In the Middle of A Broken Constellation
by MaidenOfTheWorld
Summary: A strange sludge infiltrates Gotham and is turning people into monsters. When it sneaks into other towns in the States, Bruce denies the League access to his city and tries to solve the problem alone. Diana and Clark are prepared to step in, but what they discover could be worse for Bruce than monsters in his city - like the monsters in his mind. ((WONDERBAT)) Cover: Sforzanto2711
1. Prologue

**In Another Life**

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** 14A / T

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader Decides

* * *

 _ **PROLOGUE**_

* * *

The Batman stomped into his cave, the unmistakable, signature fury heard in the heels of his boots resounded dramatically in his hollow hideaway. The teleporter slowly powered down behind him but he was swift in his steps as he walked towards his supercomputer, his gloved fingers itching to slam down upon the keyboard. "Oracle," he barked at the illuminated screens before him, with only a few background searches running just as he had left them. For the most advanced computer hardware system in the entire world, it did nothing to quell his fury to see that the likes of Harley Quinn, Talia al Ghul or even Jason and not been located by the time he returned from that ridiculous Founders meeting had had been forced to endure.

His jaw tensed before Bruce shouted at the embedded microphone somewhere inside his computer system. "Oracle!"

"It _is_ possible," came the snide tone of his supposedly faithful butler from the stairwell engraved into the Batcave's wall. "That she might be busy handling her own affairs. Oracle is rather dutiful when it comes to servicing your manic behaviour, but that doesn't mean you can expect her to-"

Alfred's chiding was frying the last nerve he had. Those fingers that were once eager to flatten every letter into his keyboard were now forming fists at his sides. "Expecting her to finish identifying the chemical compound I gave her last night is _not_ 'manic'. The people suffering in Gotham General because of that sludge would appreciate my _mania_."

A teacup was carefully placed on the edge of his computer desk, something the Batman saw through the lenses of his cowled face. However, he refused to acknowledge the gesture as he stared forward at the empty screen before him.

The irritability the was climbing up the back of his throat was nearly choking him. His teeth grinded against one another to keep himself calm as he decided to waste no more time on Barbara. Those heavy boots of his echoed in the cave as he decided to head to his garage. He had a task to complete and the pulsing rage within urged him to carry on, even if it meant working alone.

Considering his earlier outburst that evening, it was safe to assume that he had terminated his connection to Star Labs.

Meaning he'd need to think of an alternate means to identify the compound before he had yet another disaster on his hands.

"Master Bruce!" Alfred's sudden outburst was a tad more panicked than anticipated, considering how familiar he must have been with seeing the Batman's back.

"What!?" He bit out as he continued on his way down the stairs into the lowest level of his hideout.

"What is the reason behind _today's_ hostile outburst?" His typically dark humour failed to hit its mark, instead detonating the signature composure of the Batman in order to release another rush of rage within his veins.

It became absolutely overwhelming to him - the need to lash out at anyone who was close enough to submit to the sharpest edges of his most evicorating words - and compelled him to not only turn around on the steps, but to remove his cowl in one fluid tug, exposing his twisted expression to the man who had most likely seen it more than he had himself.

"Whatever you're trying to say to me, _don't_. I am trying to take care of _my_ city."

Alfred's brows rose in shock but he moved his hands behind his back and nodded slightly, as if he was trying to understand the point of his words. "Dutifully so, though I don't always end up on the receiving end of such an aggressive episode as a result."

A pang of guilt threatened to dull his intensity so Bruce swallowed it down before ascending the stairs by two meager steps. "I've been doing this for the past three decades and despite my loses, I have always put Gotham first."

"I'd agree. To a painful degree."

"No matter what it's costed me!"

"And the costs have been many."

"So when metahumans that I have gifted with nearly futuristic technology - weapons, teleporters, vehicles, _and a headquarters_ \- say that they are planning to intervene in matters here without _my_ permission, I have to solve the damn case before they think they can even _fly_ over Gotham, as if Harvey Dent himself gave them each their own damn monogrammed key to the city!"

Bruce was forced to inhale and refill his lungs with a gust of air after screaming at his butler so vehemently. The Founders meeting had replayed in his mind as he shouted about the immaterial knife they had stabbed into his back. Since the very beginning of the League's founding, he had warned his fellow founders that Gotham City was _his_ territory, meaning it did not and would not require the aid of an overpowered alien or a Robin Hood enthusiast or an immortal woman who had no weakness that he could halt her with if she tried to handle his villains the way she would Doomsday.

The untraceable sludge that he had asked Barbara to identify had begun appearing in Metropolis and Star City, all after the disastrous floods that Gotham had suffered through this summer. Bruce had hoped that if Barbara could recognize the compounds found within it, he could potentially trace the strange ooze back to a source and save his city; now that the problem was spreading to the cities that the other founders lived in, they were demanding to be brought onto his case.

But if Clark couldn't x-ray the gunk and discover its origins, or if Barry couldn't dissect it faster than Barbara, what did they expect to find here?

He couldn't let them come into his already crumbling city and cause it even greater harm.

If Harley had one of her moments of clarity, she could reveal to him if it was the Joker causing this mess.

If Talia knew about whether or not her father was planning to terrorize Gotham, he could seduce her into telling him, despite the hellhole he'd fall into in the process.

If this mess was big enough to impact the League, he could use every ally possible to defend his city, including the Red Hood.

Nothing was functioning for him and it was causing him unimaginable stress. There were already victims in the hospital who had come in contact with the sludge, and according to Commissioner Gordon, it was frightening to watch them writhe and hallucinate in quarantine. Every single victim signalled their mental deterioration with uncontrollable, panic-induced, wordless shrieks before their flesh would begin to supposedly bubble and turn crimson as if they were being boiled in their beds.

People were turning into literal monsters within the walls of Gotham General and he still hadn't found out the source of the substance that morphed innocent citizens into such grotesque creatures.

"And why are you so desperate to avoid the assistance of the Justice League? If they could help Oracle solve this matter faster, why can you not accept what they have to offer-" Alfred tried to play the devil's advocate, however, his suggestion was easily comparable to gasoline, stoking the fire that roared in Bruce's gut.

Eyes ablaze, he stared down Alfred with a look that couldn't possibly emulate the depth of the betrayal he felt. "They're only trying to step in now because it's impacting their cities. That's not altruism, that's egoism."

For a moment, Bruce was mentally preparing himself for the moment when his butler would accuse him of weaponizing his own pride in order to complete his personal agenda. Nevertheless, the fear that Clark or Diana could decide to take over the case at any moment was deafening.

All that mattered to him was saving those people, and he would make sure those contingency plans he had to defeat each member of the Justice League were close at hand, in case they tried to stop him at any point during his investigation.

"But Master Bruce, this fighting isn't necessary. Can you not see that?" The look of disappointment on Alfred's face visually represented the shame that was heard in his words. That was the moment when Bruce knew that their conversation was over. He refused to answer something as foolish as that last question, and so he turned his back to his butler, ready to leap into his Batmobile of choice and drive away from anyone and everyone who questioned his capabilities the entire day.

When he faced forward, he had less than a second to avoid a massive, crimson fist swinging at his head. The angle of the staircase in the Batcave presented somewhat of a problem as he reflexively wished to give himself distance, but Bruce was forced to engage the muscles in his previously fired up gut in order to throw himself backwards and out of his attacker's range.

As the entire arm of his enemy sailed past him, he found himself staring into a set of large yellow eyes without pupils, leering at him as if they could see him through their fury.

The reddened skin that covered their entire body gave Bruce a foolish moment of pause as he dared to ask himself: were these the monsters in the hospital!?

"Hello, Batman? Oracle here." Came the computerized voice of the long awaited Oracle. Her timing was belated but perfect, as she had the potential to help him rid the BatCave of these creatures.

Or take a sample of their skin in the hopes of finding a cure!

"Ora-!"

"Ah, good evening, Oracle. I'm afraid you just missed him."

Such a blatant lie spoken in that familiar British inflection staggered Bruce both mentally and physically. Though it wasn't his first betrayal of the day, it dug much deeper into his heart to hear Alfred answer Barbara so…

So…

 _Fuck_.

That wasn't Alfred.

Alfred wasn't in the cave, nor in the manor, if this imposter could walk into the BatCave so freely.

Bruce realized then that he had been ambushed by someone who had unquestionably discovered his secret identity.

"Bar-!" He tried to scream to his only true ally in that very moment, but the monster before him threw another punch at his throat. He had been trained to avoid such obvious strikes, if not for the second monster that hid in the shadow of the first, lower on the steps and out of sight, who reached between the legs of the creature before him and squeezed Bruce's ankle in place.

The meaty knuckles of the massive fist crashed into his Adam's apple and stifled his voice by the most violent of means.

Meanwhile, Barbara was being bamboozled by the false Alfred before her. "Oh, that's all right-"

Bruce fired a defensive kick at the red blob towering over him, where their stomach should have been.

"-I just wanted to let him know about the test results on the sludge."

There was no reaction from his heavy boots, so he reached for his infamous utility belt in the hopes of setting himself free.

The Alfred impersonator feigned kindness and asked, "What did you discover?"

Both of his ankles were now in the second creature's clutches, but that didn't stop him from using one hand to throw his cowl back over his head as the other removed his Flamethrower from its compartment over his hip and he released the fire within it upon the first monster.

It didn't even react to the hellish touch.

"That it's basically untraceable." Was Barbara's disheartening deduction.

A palm covered in boils reached down for his face and pinned Bruce to the steps beneath him. Neither monster was smart enough to secure his arms, so he quickly tossed the Flamethrower off to the side and grabbed at a second weapon.

The Alfred talking to Barbara pretended to sigh. "How tragic. Well, I'll be sure to let him know when he returns."

Even in the heat of the moment, he couldn't help but be concerned by the possibility that these were indeed the transformed citizens of Gotham - should he cause them bodily harm in this form and they maintained such wounds when they hopefully reverted back, he knew the guilt would eat him alive.

A Flash-Bang Grenade would merely blind the monsters though, and perhaps alert Barbara of something suspicious going on in the cave! The gaps in the stairs allowed him to reach for them easily enough as they rested behind his left hip.

"Thanks. Tell him I'll keep trying. Talk to you later, Alfred." Barbara was saying her goodbye, preparing to end the call.

"Good-"

Bruce threw the grenade onto the shoulder of the first monster without remorse, hoping it would blind the second one as well!

"-night."

The light was so harsh that it caused both monsters to scream, as if that was more painful than anything else he could possibly possess in his arsenal. The cowl's lenses shielded him from the brightness, which he hoped to use to his advantage and escape the second monster's hold. Once the first hand released his left ankle, he was prepared to kick and flail until he had freed his right one.

That is, until the first monster slammed both his fists into Bruce's stomach in a fit of rage over the loss of its sight.

"No! Stop that now!" Demanded Alfred's doppelganger, his voice growing louder with every word. Bruce could barely focus however, as he was more focused on reclaiming the air that had been forced out of his body after the assault on his diaphragm. Still, cloaked in the Batman armour, he summoned the strength that his people associated with his alter ego and tried to climb the stairs, attempting to escape the range of those powerful fists.

Even in the dull lighting of the BatCave, he could see the shadow of a tall, thin figure hanging over the steps he had left to climb. A hidden glare behind his kevlar mask was shot upwards at the man pretending to be his butler, his dearest friend. This replica, whomever it was beneath the charade, had mastered Alfred's ticks, his language skills, and somehow managed to appear so comfortable in the BatCave as if he had been there many times before.

This villain was someone to be feared, Bruce knew, and he felt a chill run along his spine beneath his suit.

"I don't want to cause him any harm," The pantomimist dared to say, after the punches he had already suffered through. Daring to touch his face, a thoughtful-sounding wish was tacked on to his command of the monsters. "After all, this is all for him."

Before he could even begin to wonder what that meant, that fist he had become oh so acquainted with had moved to wrap around his throat. These beasts were dead set on cutting off his air supply, which meant they were planning to kidnap him if killing him wasn't their goal.

That didn't mean he would go willingly, though.

Or that he intended to go with them at all.

His thumb found his Cryptographic Sequencer and he pressed on it with a shaking pressure. The device was usually used to turn off the electric currents in fences or to burst through doors secured by high voltage security, but Bruce knew he needed to get rid of the lights in the cave if he had any hopes of escaping. The blackout's timing wasn't instantaneous as lights flickered while attempting to stay on, but he managed to disable the power boxes of his own hideout remotely from his belt.

It caused some confusion for the monsters, and it was enough of a break from the chaos for the Batman to move into action. Night vision took over his lenses and he focused on the sight of the-

"I should have expected nothing less from you," whispered the disgruntled man posing as his butler, just before Bruce felt his cowl being torn off of his head. He blinked furiously to try and regain control of his sight, but in doing so, he failed to notice the syringe that was aiming for the side of his bruised neck.

Frozen with fear, the awareness that something cold and relentless was pumped into his body made Bruce feel truly powerless to these invaders. Monsters, all three of them were! He didn't know where Alfred truly was, he didn't know what would happen to him, and no one would know that he was gone.

"Hello? Alfred, are you there?" Once again, the voice of Barbara spilled into the cave. Even with his foggy mind being clouded by a drug-induced coma, he knew that she would have been alerted by the power outage he had caused. If he had only escaped the clutches of the monsters on the stairs, maybe he would have been able to alert Oracle of what was happening to him.

Instead…

Instead…

Bruce dozed off, the concoction of his anger and sadness over the course of his entire day stronger than any drug that could be administered to him, as he held onto his rage like a tether to the physical world before he was swept away into the realm of a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

This is my first full length WonderBat story! Instead of writing one shot after one shot, I finally have an idea of my own to make into a multi-chapter epic! I hope this prologue has intrigued you enough that you'll sticki around for chapter one, **_releasing on Monday, August 20th_**! Yes, my goal is to have one chapter a week.

Thanks for reading! ~ Maiden


	2. Recipe for Disaster

_**In Another Life**_

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** 14A / T

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader's Choice

* * *

Her fingers ran along the space bar of the JLA's computer as she mindlessly walked the length of the desk. Screens were lit up with different news outlets, covering a multitude of stories, but none that required the involvement of the League. No, they needed to pick and choose when to dabble in the problems of the world. But she couldn't deny the itch that crawled beneath her skin, beneath her civilian attire when she wished she was dressed for battle, begging her to find something to occupy her worried mind. Something beyond the antiques of her day job that reminded her of her origins, something more tantalizing that could give her heroine heart a newfound reason for its unsteady rhythm.

Though if the truth be told, there was most likely nothing in the world as occupying as the fear nestled inside of her for the past week or so.

"Huh." A soft sound of surprise echoed in her ear from across the room. Mildly curious as to who could be lurking, her upper body twisted ever so gently so she could look into the eyes of none other than Kal-El, wearing the facade of Clark Kent.

Uninspired to answer, she waited for him to elaborate upon his one word note.

A smile befell his chiseled face, softening his expression to a childlike degree, as he elaborated. "I never would have took Wonder Woman for a worrier."

That remark gave her pause. "Maybe Wonder Woman isn't, but Diana has been known to feel nervous over many things."

"Such as?" Asked Superman, lending her his Metahuman ear to listen to her woes. The way he walked into the computer room was much more sincere than his opening comment had made him out to be and it allowed her to see the sincerity in his intentions. A knot she hadn't known was resting her back began to loosen as she watched him approach the desk. Her breaths were lighter one she was able to drop her shoulders, Diana noticed immediately.

"I'm sure you know the struggle - balancing your personal life with the life of a hero." She sought empathy from him, not sympathy or pity. It seemed inevitable that, of all people, Kal could provide her with that.

The way he placed his hands on his hips wasn't domineering. Instead, it seemed as though he was trying to steady himself as if the reminder of his double life added more weight onto his back. "It's definitely something that took some getting used to. Especially when I had to learn the difference between when it's appropriate for Superman to save the day and when only Clark should."

The curious expression that crossed her face was much too honest and oh so swift that she couldn't reign her emotion in before he saw it.

Chuckling, he offered an example of what he was trying to get across to her. "When people like us want to help, it feels natural to dive in and use whatever powers we have at our disposal if it means we can save someone from some tragedy. Coming into my powers, I was terrified of what made me different from the people around me. But as I got older, I had to teach myself that even though I had all of these unique gifts that I used when I was Superman, there were still things that only Clark Kent could accomplish on his own, with even just his words."

The longer he spoke, the more Diana realized what he was getting at. When he came into the room, he had already surmised the cause of her melancholy and was merely trying to approach her in a way that sounded neutral and unassuming.

But he was one of the loudest people at the Founder meeting that took place nearly two weeks ago, and his words had done quite a lot of damage when he was dressed in his Kryptonian attire.

It was tricky to decide whether or not she wanted to call him out on his underlying intention or if she should let the facade of kindness he wore stay in tack. "How do you do it, then?"

Clark seemed taken aback by her question and he grew a tad sheepsih. "I wouldn't presume to think I had something to teach you about living with humans, Diana. I know you've survived a great deal on your own."

"Perhaps I missed the point of the story." She mused, hoping she didn't offend him by admitting such a thing outright.

Kal straightened and took her confusion as a challenge. "What I meant was, I understand that it can feel as though there are things you want to fix in the world when you're already known as a superhero to people. There's a type of indescribable restraint that it takes to not lord yourself over others when you think you have the answer to all of their problems. Choosing when to be inactive, I think, is one of a superhero's greatest and most underappreciated skills."

"Even when the person you want to lord over is considered a superhero themselves?"

The shock on his face was nothing like the nearly smug expression she had seen him wear when he was standing in the doorway, trying to get her attention moments ago. He was startled that she had seen through his coy demeanour and it rendered him a tad embarrassed. "Well, I… had imagined that you were just as concerned as I was about him."

"And the fact that we haven't seen him since," That was the first time she spoke her greatest concern aloud and it instantaneously amplified her anxiety. But Diana hoped that if she reacted fast enough, she could keep Kal from feeling the same touch of fear. "Are you saying that you're considering going to see him, in Gotham?"

She might have been the first to speak of his plan out loud too, as Kal seemed as though he was suddenly eager to fly through the roof if it meant putting his plan into motion. "I think Bruce could understand why we'd visit him now. We gave him weeks to solve the problem or even provide us with an explanation as to what this sludge could be, but he's been ghosting us since that meeting."

Diana felt her vision become unfocused as she fell into her memories and recalled that powerful clash for the umpteenth time since it had happened.

* * *

 _"It's spreading, Batman." The Flash's announcement was for the entire room of the founding members to hear, but his stare bore into the lenses on Bruce's cowl._

Seated at the round table in the midst of the hall sat the original six members of the Justice League. Diana's position allowed for her to see the silent rage that barely stayed beneath the surface of Barry's maskless face, the grinding of his teeth visible in the corners of his jaw. Given that Bruce sat to her right, and that he was fully dressed in his costume, she couldn't make out his reaction to the obvious anger being directed towards him.

The air he emanated, however, implied that Bruce was much too focused to offer any type of apology. "Where?" Was all he said in response, making the room much more tense than it needed to be.

"To Central City!" He bellowed as he tossed a newspaper into the center of the table from the Central City PIcture News. No one reached to read the paper, as Bruce had briefed them all on the sludge vaguely last week. Diana remembered him mentioning how it was turning Gothamites into monsters, how it had infiltrated the sewage to the city.

And with the floods happening across the country this summer...

"Metropolis, too." As if the meeting wasn't verging on dangerous territory, Superman chimed in with a tone that implied he was just as furious as Barry was.

All Diana could do was watch as Bruce looked over at Kal, silent and observing, assessing how best to respond to the fury of two Metahumans. Nevertheless, she wasn't at all surprised to hear that he chose to honour his own feelings when he said, "Oracle and I have been analyzing the sludge repeatedly, and even though we haven't found an antidote yet, we think that-"

"Oh, come on!" Barry leapt out of his seat and banged a fist on the table.

"Barry." Cyborg chided gently, trying to help his friend stay calm and collected.

But The Flash's mind was racing too fast for him to listen to any advice. "People in my city are now transforming into these...boil-covered creatures, and there's still nothing else you can tell us? We gave you time to solve this - I trusted that you and your computer whiz would be able to take care of this."

"Right," Bruce bit out. "When it was only my problem."

That response froze the room momentarily as the implication was processed. Then, it was Cyborg's turn to stand and take The Flash's side. "Now hold on, Batman. You won't let us help you. You've barred all of us from entering Gotham City unless you call us yourself. That's why it was only your problem."

Despite their rising stance against him, Bruce remained seated next to Diana, which was the only method of his that she approved of. Then, he removed any and all faith she had in him when he shot back, "I let you examine the sludge."

The pure disbelief shown on the humanistic side of Victor's face was rooted in disgust. As if Bruce couldn't disillusion the League anymore than he had in the past, it seemed with every new conflict, he found another method with which to destroy some of his own good standing. "And I told you it was complex, but that there was something ancient found in the compound that I couldn't read."

"So then I took it to Oracle" - this was the moment the Batman rose from his chair and stood tall against his fellow Founders - "and we are working on it. You can examine the sample I gave you again, or give it to The Flash, if you want. But I can't make the answer magically appear in front of me, so perhaps you should sit down and let us finish this meeting."

The aggression, the fear, the relentless stance against the Batman, there was something behind Barry's rebellion, Victor's addition. With the sludge spreading to other major cities in the United States, to places that mattered to the League, it meant that there was a goal with this argument and it dawned on Diana suddenly.

So, she stated it as diplomatically as she could. "They can't move forward with the meeting until they have some hope of helping their people, Batman. They want to help you locate the source of the sludge in Gotham-"

"Absolutely not."

"Are you serious!?" Barry screeched. This time when he threw his fist down, the lightning that accompanied his powers sparked around his hand when he crashed into the table, nearly knocking it into the ground. Now, all six of them stood as Arthur caught the curve of it on his lap and winced. He glared at The Flash as he stood, to which he received a gentle, "Sorry."

However, Arthur didn't focus on him. Instead he shook his head and directed his irritation towards Bruce too. "You are such a piece of work, Batman. This problem is bigger than you now. Get over yourself and let us help you."

"You can't honestly expect us to standby and wait for you, do you?" Clark's voice was firm, his mouth a flat line of disappointment on his face. "We can't simply tell the citizens of our cities to sit back and wait. They put their faith in us and if we have nothing to tell them, it could cause hysteria the longer this problem drags on."

But to counter his point, Bruce argued. "How do you think I've been handling this mess so far?" His voice was clipped, his stance strong, but he stood alone against four other members of the Justice League and all Diana could do was watch. She agreed that they should be allowed entry to Gotham City but adding her voice to the frey when she had no city to worry about like the other Founders did was an unnecessary addition to the catastrophe that was this meeting.

Then, the catastrophe imploded. Clark raised his left hand and determined for them all, "We should bring it to a vote."

The anger Barry had showcased was nothing compared to the unadulterated outrage coming from the Batman next to her. "NO!" He screamed, he demanded, but his defiance fell on deaf ears.

"I agree," Was The Flash's obvious answer, but he chose to elaborate. "Now that Iris' father has been infected, I can't let your obsessive, control freak behaviour stand between me and a cure. I vote we go to Gotham."

"Stop this! This isn't how we work!" Bruce fought back as if he was about to snap and lose complete control over himself.

But Cyborg still remained as calm as could be as he lifted his left hand as well. "Then how do we work? Are we supposed to let you dictate how we save the world? If you were in Superman's or The Flash's shoes right now, you know they'd let you into their cities if it meant saving everyone. How come you get to decide the fate of thousands of people like this?"

Diana felt those were fair counter arguments for Bruce to consider, but the seething she heard was nearly carnal, and much like an animal being backed into a corner, he only cared about fighting for himself. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be here! You wouldn't have all of my technology, my resources, everything you need to save the day that you didn't have before. And this is the thanks I get!?"

"Dammit Batman, you know this isn't about you!" That was the moment in which Kal lost control of his words. Like the force of nature he was, he couldn't contain himself as he went after his best friend. "You always do this - you take on more than you can handle and make things more complicated than they need to be! There are five us of here offering you our help and you're so painfully stubborn that you could end up costing people their lives, all so you can be the king of your castle! I always believed that your methods could be tolerated if it was for the betterment of other people but this is just insanity."

Even Diana was stunned into silence by the way Kal read Bruce for the room. Their bond was like that of brothers, tumultuous and challenging at times but typically routed in commonality, in their hearts. For him to hurl such heated words at his closest friend, it could only mean that the strain of choosing between honouring their bond and honouring Metropolis waged war inside of him, and the latter desire won out.

He most likely had to choose between respecting Bruce's wishes and worrying for Lois' safety.

That was yet another reason why she could think clearly as the other members fought around her - not only had she no city to protect, but she also had no one specifically to fear for.

Nothing drove her beside her desire to simply protect everyone, including an angry bat from the clutches of his fellow Founders.

But her opinion mattered not. After a lengthy pause that only allowed the visceral energy stew around the circular table, Bruce detonated. "Everyone here knows Superman is weak to Kryptonite, and I know at least one weakness for every single one of you too. If you come anywhere near Gotham City, be ready for a fight that you won't walk away from alive."

And with a dramatic toss of his cape, Batman departed from the Founders Meeting without any concern for the shouts and protests that chased him out. Prideful to the very end, he most likely headed directly for the teleporter to take him back to his BatCave, away from all the supposed resources there at the JLA headquarters, ready to return to work in the privacy of his sanctuary. Diana sighed heavily as she sat amongst the bickering men, praying to every Greek god she could think of in the hopes that the confrontation she had just sat through was the worse that this mysterious, destructive sludge could do to them.

* * *

As her memory of the altercation whipped by, Diana cringed internally when she recalled the threats that Bruce had made. It was so very dramatic, which was signature Batman behaviour, but after all of the work that was put into forming the Justice League, it seemed so very asinine to her that he would demolish everything for the sake of his sovereignty.

"If the sludge hadn't begun to retreat on its own," Kal seemed prepared to answer a question she had yet to ask. "I would have hunted this Oracle down myself, to really see if they could give us the answers we were searching for."

"The sludge disappeared?" Diana inquired with evident astonishment.

When he nodded, he looked as though he wasn't entirely appeased. "Shortly after that meeting, yeah. There are still people infected by it, but quarantining them is no longer a major concern, since their numbers aren't increasing. The real emergency is the fact that we had to shut off the water to the city. Aquaman is helping us collect the sludge in order to contain what's out there, but if only we had the antidote - if we could add it to our water filtration systems to guarantee that Metropolis and Central City are safe too, then we can move beyond this mess."

The longer he went on for, the deeper his frown sank. This conversation was proving Kal's earlier point, whether or not he intended for his words to do so. There was absolutely nothing that Superman could do right now to identify the cure for the infection that had transformed innocent people into these abominations. If there was, he would have solved the matter by now. But given that neither Barry's forensics degree or Victor's expansive technological mind could provide any kind of solution, all of the powers in all of the world that Superman possessed were rendered useless in a crisis such as this.

Only Kal-El, Clark Kent himself had a chance of appealing to the heart of Bruce Wayne in the hopes of getting his hands on an antidote.

Would Bruce really be so spiteful as to withhold a cure from defenceless people because of how his fellow Founders offended his pride?

There was only one way to find out.

Diana rose to her feet and offered her friend a confident smile in the hopes of lifting his spirits. "Then for the sake of your people - and the hope of ending this petty feud - I say we visit Bruce, immediately."

That was what Kal had implied he had wanted the entire time they had been talking, and yet, there was a wide-eyed moment that made Diana wonder if he was genuinely terrified of Bruce, more so than he was scared for the citizens of Metropolis and Central City.

Thankfully, he let the moment pass and nearly flew out of his seat. "And we talk to him in smaller numbers." Was Kal's way of insinuating that they didn't need anyone else aside from the two of them to handle the Batman.

Diana tried her best not to chuckle at such an obvious detail to their plan. "I think having the two of us go is already a recipe for disaster."

"Well, if Bruce is still stewing, then neither of us will be gentle with one another, yeast of all, me."

For the first few seconds, as they walked towards the teleporter down the hall, neither of them spoke. But Diana couldn't stop herself from finding some amusement in the awkwardly timed pun and snickered against her better judgement. "What on Earth…?"

"I thought that was well timed, since we were using food-related phrases anyway. And being a farm boy from Smallville, I know how to handle my wheat." There was no shame in his voice, but rather, pride. Given that there weren't many opportunities to see such a humorous side to any of her fellow heroes, least of all the almighty Superman, the rarity of the moment was most likely coaxed a laugh out of her.

Still, the absurdity of his comedy was the perfect elixir to her rather pensive mood.

Feeling lighter than air for the first time in a week, Diana was more than excited to carry on their silly conversation. "I didn't know you were from Smallville. I just assumed you had always lived in Metropolis."

"Really? Well, once this is all over, I'll have to take you by the farm. I'm sure Ma would love to meet you."

"I'd love that too."

"Just be ready to eat." Now, it was his turn to laugh, as if his warning was much more sinister than one might assume.

Having seen more of Kal on the battlefield than she had in any personable sense, Diana felt as though it was so much easier to relate to him in this state. They were both improbable powerhouses for the League - mythological-like figures that people either revered or feared - but they each had a softer, more mortal heart beneath their durable skin. This insight into his personality when his defences were down wasn't a surprise per se, but it was most definitely endearing.

The humming of the charged teleporter drew them out of the moment, ever so slowly. As Kal made a beeline for the control panel, typing in their coordinates with ease as if he had studied the BatCave's entry code many times before, Diana walked directly onto the awaiting platform. She felt the light that illuminated the teleporter rise along her thighs and cling to her skin, holding her, keeping her place as if she needed to complete the journey into Gotham. Admittedly, she was concerned about Bruce's inevitable reaction - there was an undeniable anticipation for shouting and insults and perhaps a small brawl she'd have to break up between the boys - but the silence from his end was ultimately much more unnerving.

When Kal stepped onto the platform, it began to rumble, ready to break them down and rebuild them in the Batcave. In fact, it was only a matter of three blinks, and Diana wasn't in the JLA Headquarters any longer.

And almost instantly, Diana lifted her arms to thwart a metal weapon's course after it was mysteriously thrown at her with deadly intentions.

"Diana!" Kal screamed, then lit up his eyes and fired his heat vision in the direction the attack had come from. The BatCave was nearly pitch black when they had entered and it made them an easy target for whomever it was that was lurking in the shadows. From behind her bracelets, her gaze fell to the ground and examined the object thrown at her…

A Batarang!?

"Wait!" Diana threw her arm out in front of Kal's chest in order to stop him in his tracks. He obeyed her word of caution and drew the yellow sun's energy back into his body. However, that only opened them to another attack and another pair of Batarangs flew at each of their chests. Someone was intending to kill them, and use Bruce's weapons to do it!

That was the moment when Diana decided to give into her Amazonian strength. After worrying herself sick for a week about Bruce, taming her nerves in order to keep herself in line and respect his space, they arrive in his secret base just to be assaulted?

It was time to lord herself over whoever thought it was wise to challenge her.

She bent her knees ever so subtly, then pushed off of her heels and flew through the air at their assailant. Instead of Batman's weaponry, their attacker switched to their own arsenal and sent a barrage of throwing knives her way but such primitive weapons were no match for someone of her calibur. She swatted them away like flies before coming to land against the cavern wall, tossing her body through the air so she could plant her feet against it instead of her fists.

As Diana spun her head around to take off again, Diana's instinct caught onto the fist that was sailing right towards her jaw. She held up her palm to easily stall the punch, then clamped her hand around it with a vengeful grip.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Hissed her hidden enemy, just before she tossed them over her shoulder and stomped her Amazonian boot onto their chest, pinning them effortlessly to the ground. If not for their constant whining, she might have applied more pressure. "I give! I give!"

"Next time," Kal's tone was firm and unapproving as he stomped over to when she held their secret enemy down. "I would recommend you lead with something friendlier."

The mysterious person's face and voice were muffled by their mask, but their condescending chuckle was impossible to miss. "Riiight, because coming in here without any warning was so polite of you, too."

Diana was prepared to lean over her leg and apply more pressure to her heel with the weight of her body. "When you're friends with the person who owns the place and have worked here yourself, it's not so impolite when you stop by."

A colony of bats cried out as they scattered throughout the cave, just as the presumably male captive beneath her boot flailed wildly on the BatCave's floor. It appeared as though his only hope was to remove the contraption on his head, revealing his face to the pitch black hideaway. "Wait, there are people who consider themselves friends with Bruce?"

"Yes." Was Diana's sharp reply.  
"Okay then, even though I can only kinda trust you," muttered the mystery man as he shoved her heel off of his chest. He scrambled to stand while Diana tried to regain her composure, unimpressed with herself for allowing herself to behave so rashly in the face of such a meager attack. No one had access to the BatCave except for those that Bruce trusted, so she knew that her behaviour was unacceptable. Taking a deep breath, she waited for their potential ally to wander over to the computer screen and turn it on, providing the cool cavern with some kind of warm light. Then, they came face to face with the individual that they should have assumed was their attacker. "Let's get to know one another. I'll go first, since I am the reigning member of the BatClan apparently. Hi, I'm Jason. Who the hell are you?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 _This is NOT how I intended this chapter to end originally, but as I was writing it out, I realized this made more sense... And it allows for me to add more drama as the story goes on! I hope you're enjoying the story thus far, and stick around for what this (hopefully) epic has in store!_

 _If you have a tumblr, be sure to check out the **fyeahwonderbat** tumblr that I run for more WonderBat content!_ \- Maiden


	3. Twists and Turns

_**In the Middle of a Broken Constellation**_

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** 14A / T

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader's Choice

* * *

The cool glow of the computer screens gave the young man before them a haunted glow. Not a single light was on in the BatCave - no machine aside from the teleporter standing by - and it gave them the impression that the surrounding darkness would be ready to swallow if they so dared to let that glow disappear. Standing with his back to the light he provided, Jason's body language implied that he had calmed down some since that first toss of a batarang at their heads.

The lessened tension visibly calmed Kal and he left Diana's side to approach their wily greeter. "You wouldn't recognize us like this, but perhaps you'd know us better as Superman and Wonder Woman."

His introductions were peculiar to her, but 'Wonder Woman' said nothing of it. Still in their civilian clothes when they traveled to Gotham, it would have made sense to call them Diana and Kal. But Bruce had a rule that he expected to be followed by any and all superheroes who were in his fold: superhero names were used at any meeting or on any mission, birth names when dressed down and in public.

Given that the situation placed them in the middle of his criteria, Superman chose to straddle himself between the two criteria, she could only imagine.

However, Jason's pointed finger would disprove the viability of his choice. "I remember hearing about the adventures of Superman while I was away, but I can't say I know of a Wonder Woman. Though, you _are_ really wonderful, I can tell." A wink was sent her way and she wished she could have repelled it with her bracelets too.

Unfortunately for this Jason of the BatClan, she wasn't in the mood for jokes. Diana stepped closer to the computer and spoke candidly while she walked. "I'd like to know what you meant when you referred to yourself as the 'reigning member'. You clearly have access to the BatCave, so are you one of Bruce's protégé?"

" _Was_." Jason nearly spat the word out. The harsh tone slowed her pace until she stopped herself a couple feet away from him. Even with the space between them, his energy was broiling under that blasé demeanour and it was nearly begging her to take notice of it.

But she wasn't here to bond with Jason. "What makes you the reigning member then, when the BatClan is rather large, from what I remember?"

A tick in his jaw was outlined by the light coming from the computer screens behind him. He crossed his arms inside his noisey leather jacket and leaned back against the desk. "I don't think I was done interrogating you, and you're on my turf. Whether Batman ever mentioned me or not, I'm in charge now, and I want to know what you're doing in my cave?"

Instinctively, she wanted to grab her lasso and make him into a bat yo-yo! This ridiculous back and forth wasn't progressing anywhere since none of them could validate each other without Bruce. The only truth Jason had said was a mere suspicion on his part - not once had she heard about him from his supposed mentor. Was he the black sheep of the family?

That detail didn't matter to Kal. He was careful to stay in the backlines as he took on the role of the 'good cop' in their own version of interrogating Jason. "The same thing as you, I imagine. We came here because we haven't seen or heard from Bruce in weeks and it isn't like him to put his ego over being a hero."

While Diana turned her head back around to face Jason, she heard a disdaining scoff. "Then you don't know him as well as you think you do."

Hate, tempered rage clearly forged that remark and it even managed to give Diana chills. She would never presume she truly know Bruce - there were so many sides to a man as complicated as him - but the mere implication of the disdainful darkness that Jason had seen of him was genuinely destabilizing for her. For one of his own to speak of him with such spite in his own home, in his own haven was frightfully telling.

So stunned was she, that she allowed an awkward moment to pass them by. "Do you know where he is, Jason? Or is there something you're not telling us? He was working on something for the Justice League and we need to know what it is he has discovered. His research is vital to helping hundreds if not thousands of people and we can't afford to waste anymore time." Diana knew she was laying it on thick, but if fighting fire with fire wasn't the best way to break through that Bat-persona, then perhaps the stakes they were facing would appeal to him.

The BatCave was cold, underground much like Jason was. It suited him if he was going to run the Batman's world one day, but Diana refused to believe it would be today.

Without moving an inch or giving any indication that he cared for their plight, it was almost surprising that he answered them. "Bruce had been reaching out to me a couple weeks ago, and I never answered."

"Why?" Was reporter Clark Kent's next question.

Jason sighed as his shoulders fell, almost as if he was crumbling into himself. "I have my own missions to complete, and we don't have the same methods anyway. I figured Dick or Babs could help him out if he needed it. Had no idea he had his own club of super friends going too. Don't know why I even bothered coming back here, then."

Diana was having none of his self pity, and made it abundantly clear to him. "Because you wanted to see if things are okay, and they're not. You know as well as I do that something is wrong with Bruce." Speaking those words aloud for this rebellious ward was hard for her to do, because it made her concerns for her friend's safety a group matter, a group issue.

The only thing she could tell that the two of them had in common was this singular fear, given how heavy his sigh was after he heard her statement. He rubbed the back of his neck as the situation boiled down in his mind, "If Dick is caught up in dicking it up in Bludhaven and Barbara is too busy playing the perfect daughter to find him, then that's their problem. They can live with the consequences of whatever's happened here. Me? I say we go find Bruce right now and drag his ass back home. No clue where he's at, but three heads are better than one, right?"

Kal swooped in at the speed of light as if he had been waiting for this break through the entire time. "Welcome to the team." His good cop attitude was clearly just a faceted of his actual personality as he offered Jason his hand. The two shook, despite the blatantly confused look on the young man's face as he went along with the gesture.

It was all Diana could do not to laugh at the domineering 'reigning member' as he stared at Kal with an immediate resistance to his cheery nature. It was quite in character, given whose ward he was.

But the moment came and went and it was now time to move.

Clearing his throat, Jason attempted to brush away the sudden social courtesy with a rather important jab. "So team, here's a question for of us to ask ourselves before we go anywhere: has anyone talked to Alfred yet?"

"You haven't?" Kal wondered at her side, voicing Diana's exact thought.

Jason chuckled as he made his way towards the stairs that would take them all to the main level. "I have my own way of getting in here."

"Well, I'm sure Alfred can at least provide us with a location." Superman mused as he took off his glasses, not needing to wear his entire civilian disguise around the Wayne Manor butler.

Diana was ready to see the older man too. She always appreciated Alfred's wit, wisdom and delicious treats. He was a beacon of levity in the otherwise dreary home, which explained why Bruce could never let him go. It wasn't unrealistic in the least to assume that his butler would have his location, even if it was merely as vague as the name of the city he had traveled to in pursuit of a possible perpetrator.

If he was still in Gotham?

Oh, he would wish he ran away from his precious city, once she got her hands on him.

Third in line on the stairs, all she wanted to do was push through the other two and throw that old clock out of their way. Jason pushed something along the wall that she missed, and the secret door opened, a beam of natural light greeting them as they climbed the steps.

"Wh-...What on Earth!?" came the startled voice of an older man.

Staring up at Jason, Diana watched him lock eyes with someone and smile instantly, more naturally than anything she had ever seen before. "Alfred! Long time, no-"

"What are you doing in my home!?" Screamed the butler, the fear in his voice familiar to heroes who had naysayers constantly terrified of their powers.

Kal looked over his shoulder at her, bracing himself with a dangerous shadow casted over his eyes due to his furrowed brow. Meanwhile, unsuspecting Jason merely made a bigger mess of the matter. "I know it's been a while, but c'mon Alfred! It's me - your favourite smart ass!"

Being locked on the staircase was troubling, because she wasn't sure if there was a way to rectify the situation if she couldn't judge the poor elder man's reaction for herself.

The sound of a sword being drawn was unmistakable, as was the draining of emotion from Jason's face.

"Jason." Kal whispered, trying to call to him, to pull him away from the hurt he was feeling.

Instead, the 'reigning member' of the BatClan did what his predecessor would have: he held out his hand to indicate that they should escape while unseen, and he threw himself at Alfred's feet by closing the secret door behind him.

With a heavy thud, they were left to handle the weight of their reality in that moment: Alfred couldn't help them, and he might have lost his mind.

Someone had infiltrated the Wayne Manor and manipulated Bruce's butler.

Someone knew who Bruce really was and had brought the fight to his home.

Terror roared in both of their ears as Diana and Kal looked to one another, knowing they couldn't find their answers in the one place they had hoped would shed some light on this mystery. Neither of them had ever been more scared for Bruce's safety, and it pained Diana to leave Jason with an Alfred who was out of sorts.

Thankfully, Kal spoke the truth she needed to hear. "We have to go."

That was all Diana needed. She nodded and spun around, leaping down that massive staircase without a second thought. Kal had already flown past her, reaching the control panel of the teleporter.

She didn't hesitate as she ran over to the humming platform. "Anywhere in Gotham."

"We should head back to headquarters and consult with the rest of the League." Kal argued when there wasn't time to do so. His fingers hovered over the keys and glared at her with a look that showed her just how wrong he thought she was.

Just as quickly as she had jumped on, Diana leapt off the contraption and made sure she imprinted her determination into the heels of her shoes. "Bruce isn't here to keep us out of Gotham; you and I can canvas the city right now and determine if he is here."

"We can't let our emotions dictate what we do, like he did!" He fired his words at her with such panic, it was ironic that he dared to scold her for the very same thing.

Nevertheless, she was having none of it. "Then return to headquarters and assemble who you can. I am going, and I'll call the others over our comms when I get there." Diana stood tall against the Kryptonian because she knew her plan of action was the most practical. There was no telling when the home was infiltrated and to completely leave Gotham and return in the next few hours would allow for Bruce's captor more time to escape.

She would rip the entire place apart to find him and if need be, she'd do it alone.

Kal's chest expanded, his nostrils flared, but she watched him reset the coordinates against his better judgement because of her. Appreciating his willingness to comply with her, Diana decided to be more specific with their search so as to alleviate some of his apprehension. "If we can come close to Wayne Tower, it's in Old Gotham. We can each take half of the city, then meet at Arkham Asylum and cross the river."

"For someone who has never been allowed to come here, you sure know the layout." His tease was meant to dispel the tension his outburst had caused. Luckily for him, she never intended to hold it against him. He joined her on the teleportation pad as the machine began to roar and looked straight ahead, focused more like a soldier than the boy scout he had been labeled as.

Diana decided to stand the same way, given her time training as a warrior on Themyscira. "Wonder Woman isn't," she remarked with an almost cocky inflection in her tone. "But Diana has visited once or twice."

Kal broke his serious facade so that he could chuckled thrice while the platform lit up with a blinding light that tore them out of the BatCave.

When they regained their vision, they were standing in an alleyway that was the perfect depiction of what Gotham's underbelly might have looked like. Given that it was midday still, Diana managed to catch the sight of the spilled over garbage she was standing in, soggy wrappers and newspapers that couldn't be contained in the dumpster right next to them. The smell was putrid, just as blaringly loud as the traffic in the street at the end of the lane. It was obvious by the puddles on the ground that a rainfall had just swept through, but the clouds above warned of another and refused to disperse.

It was picturesque for the Gotham City she had been warned about.

"Where did you send us?" Looking up at the sky had shown that they were standing between a pair of two storey buildings.

No tower was so short, especially one owned by Bruce Wayne.

Fixing his signature curl when dressed as Clark, he explained their placement as if it was ingenious. "I didn't want to send us directly to his office building in case there are security cameras over every inch of it. I moved us over a few feet over so we could move in secret."

Still shaking the newspaper off of her precious Jimmy Choos, Diana could only agree with him on a practical level.

As the Gotham Times went flying from the bottom of her heel, she let the puddle splash around her ankles, ready to carry out her search with hopefully the same precision as the detective they were trying to find.

They walked out of the alley like they had every right to be lurking in it, and looked from left to right as they assessed the street they had landed on. The nearest intersection said they were on Kane Street and-

A limousine ripped past them, slamming on its breaks a few buildings down the street and causing a symphony of horns to echo down the road as it parked. A frantic driver raced around to the opposite side of the car, ripping open the passenger door on the right and bowing to whomever was exiting.

With both of their enhanced abilities, Kal and Diana's hearing focused on the commotion without even realizing which boulevard the limo had parked in front of.

No, it was the voice of the man exiting the car that clued them in.

"Sorry about the late lunch, but you did once say you'd do anything for an interview, Vicki." In one smooth motion, it was none other than Bruce Wayne himself stepping out onto the sidewalk. That face that was perfectly suited for a scowl was impossible to miss, even when he was smiling like the socialite Diana knew he could be. He was behaving like a shameless flirt as though there was no other concern in the world than wooing the female reporter within the stretched limousine.

They had located him - the man of the hour, the Batman in the middle of his city - and it was so deflating that it left them both in shock.

A giggle answered his flirtations, and all they could see was a wave of a beautifully manicured hand. "Even if it means being scolded by Mario, just for you, Bruce." The woman referred to as Vicki was all too familiar with this version of him, Diana realized as they spoke. It only cooled her blood further to think that he could possibly be playing out some civilian fantasy while the rest of them were lamenting over his return to the League? Let alone, with a cure?

Bruce's chuckle was the straw that broke Kal's restraint, as he began to make his way over to the unsuspecting man a few feet away. Diana watched from her hidden location, unable to stop her friend from possibly pummeling the other. The entire situation had been utterly chaotic and to have the end result be such a flippant encounter on the streets of Gotham had truly shaken her opinion of Bruce.

In her eyes, he deserved whatever Kal had to say to him.

Bruce patted the top of the limo to send it on its way, unaware the towering man that was coming up behind him. Diana listened in to their conversation while resting her back against the wall of the alley, hoping Bruce wouldn't see her peeking. She imagined that her presence could only make matters worse.

"Bruce!" Kal shouted after him, and when that seemed to garner no results, he tried to play the part of a respectful reporter. "Mr. Wayne!"

There was a moment of pause between them, and that could have been caused by an assortment of emotions. But when Bruce replied with a simple, "Yes?" His tone was almost vacant.

Kal chose to play it smart, most likely due to the doormen of the Wayne Tower watching nearby. "Clark Kent, Daily Planet. I know you're a very busy man, but I was wondering if I could get a moment of your time?" The bite in his tone could have been the derision of a man hunting a story, and hopefully it would be perceived as such.

However, the way he replied to Kal made her nervous as Alfred's confusion flashed in her mind, feeling almost reminiscent of the amnesiac they left Jason to deal with.

"Daily Planet… Ah, don't I own that one?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Omg I hated the original beginning I had for this so I had to restart it this morning! But I promised I'd update on Mondays so I made sure this was done TODAY! I hope you enjoyed and are excited to follow along as we learn about what the heck happened to Bruce and Alfred!?_ ~ Maiden


	4. Elevated Chaos

_**In the Middle of A Broken Constellation**_

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** T / 14A

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader's Choice

* * *

It was absolutely infuriating to stand still in that alleyway. Diana much preferred the aggressive stylings of an Amazon than the secretive methods of a detective, but she knew in her gut that revealing herself now would compromise the possible future strategies needed to deal with Bruce.

Even though she had genuinely hoped that this confrontation would be the end of it all.

The city of Gotham was bustling in its most lavish business district, making it difficult for her to pinpoint when the silence between her friends had ended. Clark's confrontation was a misstep, a more emotional version of his civilian persona than anyone had ever seen, which made her wonder if this Bruce Wayne would notice the fury burning inside of his so-called ally. The possibility that they could be dealing with an imposter crossed her mind and she felt sick to her stomach before she finished processing the words.

Thinking that something had happened to him was troubling enough, but to imagine that he could have been replaced and stolen away at any point in the last few weeks without the Justice League ever noticing was a surefire way to make her wrap her arms around her waist, hoping she could hold herself up under the weight of such a feasible terror.

"Come on, Kal…" she whispered to herself in the hopes of encouraging him.

However, it couldn't have been a mere coincidence that the conversation resumed after her hushed plea. "Quite possibly," answered Clark Kent the reporter when asked if the mogul Bruce Wayne owned the company he worked for. "But I promise I'm not here to discuss that."

The social facade he wore compelled Bruce to chuckle, but it was the direction in which his voice carried that nearly made Diana peek around the corner of the alley. "Well as much as I would love to stand here and totally _not_ get caught saying something on the record, I'm needed inside." Undoubtedly, he was beginning to leave the conversation without providing either of them with any kind of answer as to what was going on. Diana couldn't see his facial expressions or his body language, meaning she couldn't decipher if he was behaving genuinely with Kal.

"I'd love to schedule an interview with you sometime, Mr. Wayne!" the vigilant reporter shouted after the retreating CEO. His tone was crisp, proving that one of the talents that Bruce had over the amazing Superman was most definitely acting.

Diana never heard an uttered response, and for a single instance, she wondered why it felt as if the world had suddenly stopped. There wasn't anyone on the street, no cars speeding past and no conversations to overhear. Somehow, in a city as frantic and volatile as Gotham, everything fell silent.

Diana looked to the sky as if she was praying to all of her gods to tell her what was happening…!

" _Diana_ ," Kal grumbled in her ear.

"Here." How swiftly her hand flew to her comms, as if she needed to use it similarly to a walkie talkie and press down on a button to participate in the discussion.

His voice was low and serious, twisted with something ill similar to devastation, " _Something is wrong with him_."

"What?" Tossing her head over her shoulder, she waited for Kal to appear and join her in the alleyway. It was clear that he was on the move due to the gusts of air that coated his mouth piece whenever he spoke.

He confirmed he wasn't returning to her side when he stated his own plan of action. " _I'm going after Vicki Vale. She just spoke with him and I remember Bruce mentioning her before. Maybe her perspective can help us figure this out_."

That explanation wasn't good enough for her. Diana refused to hold herself back as she nearly seethed into the communication link, "Figure out _what_ , Kal?"

" _Why Bruce's brain has sustained a great deal of damage_."

Such a claim startled her, and justifiably so: apparently, this man _was_ their Bruce, but only after having suffered through something kind of internal damage? It was imperative for her to know how he had reached such a conclusion, until Diana quickly recalled that Kal possessed x-ray vision. If he had performed an MRI-type scan on Bruce during their conversation and could see something frightfully wrong…

Diana swallowed a lump in her throat before answering him. "She'll only be able to give you a superficial opinion of a chance in his personality. She isn't a doctor."

Perhaps his own shock was compelling Kal to behave irrationally, but he refuted her logic with the emotional impact that clouded his own. " _I want to know what she noticed before we involve anyone else. I'll contact you once I speak with her-."_

"Kal."

" _What?_ "

"Alfred." Diana whispered his name as she recalled the heartbreak on poor Jason's face when they last saw him in the BatCave. His behaviour made it seem as though he didn't recognize one of Bruce's own wards, that he was shaken to see him enter the manor through the secret doorway.

Could the person who harmed Bruce have also gotten to Alfred?

Could that person have done such damage inside of the manor!?

Was Jason in danger in that very moment, because they left him to fend for himself!?

Kal didn't need to respond to her one-word remark. She knew without a doubt they were both terrified for the very same reasons. In her mind, it was time to turn fear into fervor. "I'm going to return to the manor."

" _Okay_." Was Kal's reply through an audible sigh.

Their roles decided, Diana refused to sit with this restless energy any longer. It was no longer necessary to play the part of a professional business woman, so it was time to make use of the skills she had as an exiled Amazon. Her knees were barely bent when she leapt into the sky, but she cared very little about the landing as she looked out at the city from such a telling height.

In her mind's eye, she knew that the manor was North-East from where they had positioned themselves next to Wayne Tower, and it was on the opposite side of Gotham. She had a far trek to make with very little time, her anxious mind warned her. Diana let herself fall down as she gauged the elevations of the different rooftops that had decided her path before falling onto the restaurant that she had been facing while in the alley.

Then, she took off in a way that would make Barry do a double take.

Diana avoided the commercial skyscrapers as she tore through the city like a bat out of Tartarus. She convinced herself that the cloud cover would be enough to hide her movements from the citizens down below. After all, it wasn't uncommon for them to watch people hurl themselves from building to building, Wonder Woman imagined.

This was without a doubt one of her sloppiest moments as a hero, behaving like a common vigilante in this city, and yet her behaviour was something she was unapologetic for.

Traveling across Old Gotham through the air was rather simple and the breeze was undeniably refreshing, cooling against her heated flesh after spending her day fretting herself into a corner. It didn't matter that she had been scared for Bruce for weeks - when it came down to a plan of action, she had behaved like she might have as a rebellious young girl, giddy while sneaking around Themyscira instead of doing her chores. Acting irrationally had been her worst trait, according to her mother, and in her own opinion when she reflected upon herself. But unlike reporter Clark Kent, Diana Prince had no skills or powers that could aid them in such a delicate situation.

Her civilian identity provided her with absolutely no benefits, and that was another hard truth she had been afraid to face.

It would make sense for Clark Kent to approach Vicki Vale.

It would seem entirely suspicious for Diana Prince to attempt the same thing.

Was it time to reinvent herself in the modern world once again? She loved her job wholeheartedly, she truly did. But it wasn't something she could weaponize, and for that reason alone, her civilian identity had been an incredibly noticeable stumbling block today.

Acknowledging that made Wonder Woman throw herself over the Finger River without even glancing at one of the bridges she could have taken.

She needed to cut through Little Italy in order to charge past the East End and then traverse yet another river. Having put three districts behind her already, she still felt as if she wasn't moving fast enough. In pushing herself to move like a airborne Flash, she cracked one of the heels of her Jimmy Choo's and nearly wobbled onto her knees. Cursing, she wished she had switched into her armour before leaving the JLA Headquarters! She kicked them off of her feet without a single concern for the price tag attached to the famous shoes, with one of them flying into the metal walls covering a rooftop staircase exit.

Maybe a shoemaker would climb the steps and find a nice treat for themselves.

Diana couldn't care about the heels she was leaving behind. She took off once again and found herself pushing off of concrete, of shingled rooftops with greater ease now that her weight didn't rest on a pin-sized point.

It also helped when she dropped a few feet too many and ended up rolling onto the roof of the Black Bass Bar.

Her bare feet were even more of an essential when she needed to quickly dodge an arrow that had intended to strike her in the back.

Projectiles seemed to be a Gotham specialty.

It wasn't unfathomable that she could outrun a random threat in a city of human and metahumans alike, inspiring Diana to locate the tallest building in the vicinity and hurl herself towards it without even looking back. It was arrogant of her to think that she cold escape the notice of the superpowered people as easily as she could the locals, and she had no doubt angered someone with some sort of gift. Unfortunately for them, she didn't have the time to work out her aggression at that very moment.

However, just as Diana was about to touch down, she heard the familiar sound of a fired grappling hook hurtling towards her. Could her attacker be one of the Robins she wasn't familiar with? Or was it someone who she would need to fight off if she dared to stop and check? She felt like such an alien in this city more so than anywhere else in the world, which she knew might cause her to risk making allies over trusting her individual skills.

But if she could recruit someone like Dick or Barbara to her cause, wouldn't the risk be worth it?

Diana let her feet slide over the rocky rooftop, needing to slow down if she was going to make her mystery assailant's acquaintance. In her gray power suit, hair slicked back in a ponytail and fist clenched, she was prepared to end any fight quickly enough if she had made the wrong choice to stop.

The caped person shot over the edge of the skyscraper and attempted to snipe her as they fell. Clearly, the archer had no idea who they were hunting, as she easily drew her right arm up over her face and let her bracelet slip free of her sleeve, protecting her with ease. A heavy breath filled Diana's lungs as she feared that she had decided to waste time with this masked individual. Her patience worn thin, her goal was to grab them by the throat and dangle them over the edge if she needed to, threatening them to leave her be as a kind gesture.

Instead of beating them in a fight and leaving them to wallow in pain, alone on top of a skyscraper.

But before she could move, a rather confident insult was thrown at her with a similar intent as that arrow. "So do villains just think that a power suit makes them powerful now? Please tell me this isn't your entire gang's wardrobe?" The pitch she heard implied that the vigilante across from her was a female, meaning her only hope was that she was dealing with a Batgirl, not one of Bruce's Rogue Gallery.

"I'm not a villain, but if you delay me anymore, I could become your enemy." Diana cautioned her attacker, despite noticing the bat-like points on the side of their face mask. Perhaps violence was how the BatClan greeted one another?

"Big words for someone whose stomping around Gotham like she owns the place. Where you headed, then? Arkham is the other way." The threat in her tone was meant to sound jovial, but combined with another fired arrow at Diana's face and it was much too aggressive for her liking.

It was all she could do not to raise her voice and scowl at the apparent arrow enthusiast. "I'm not here for you."

"No? You shook my building."

"And clearly-"

Another arrow, another deflection.

"I did that-"

Two more fired, despite none of them landing thus far.

"For you-!" Tired of her sarcasm failing to land, Diana charged at her attacker at a blinding speed, teeth gritted and hands poised to grab hold of that cape. Somehow, her leap was dodged and Diana nearly went sailing over the side of the building. If not for the raised ledge along the side of the roof, she might have. Grabbing hold of it caused her shoulder muscle to twist but she used the momentum to swing herself over the building and throw her body weight down on top of the caped arrow-slinger.

The woman tried to perform a dodge roll of her own in order to escape Diana's wrath, but it was almost too easy to do the very same thing and reach for her.

She didn't grab her cape, or her shoes.

She grabbed that damn crossbow and broke it in half over her knee.

A punch was delivered to her jaw as an immediate response, and the sharp recognition of the pain urged Diana to lose control of her rage. She turned to look at her opponent and noticed that a heeled boot was about to sail into her face too. With an almost unfair ease did she grab hold of that ankle and stop it inches away from her cheek. The poor arrow slinger tried to wiggle free, despite the futility of her actions.

Empowered by her literal upper hand, Diana rose onto her bare feet slowly, precisely as if she wasn't embodying a storm of emotions. She lifted her opponent into the air and, for safety reasons, decided to take hold of her other ankle too. Then, she decreed with a rocky tone. "I have much more pressing matters than teaching you how to realize when you've been beat."

This woman was a fighter, that Diana could appreciate. Already, she could tell that she was trying to figure out how to get out of her grip, and she refused to remain defeated. On any other day, it would prove to be entertaining to battle her. Nevertheless, she needed to guarantee that their match was over, which required her words more than her hands.

"Would you consider yourself a friend of Batman's?" Diana interrogated.

The question made her fight harder. "I wouldn't, no. We have… argh, different methods."

"In terms of what?"

"Of how to get the job done. Though, his opinion means very little when he's not around anymore. If I'm picking up the slack, then I'll take care of Gotham my way."

Diana had heard enough. She dropped her opponent and watched her use her hands to cushion the fall that would have landed her on her head. Performing a backflip to escape each other's immediate range, the masked woman was clearly gearing up to attack her once again. But enough was enough.

"I'm trying to help Bruce." Diana admitted without any hesitation. Indeed, on the other side of the roof, the shocked woman had something clasped in her gloved hand that she was about to throw. However, the proclamation had startled her into stillness.

Suspicious, she asked. "How do you know his name? Who are you?"

"I'm Diana. And you?"  
"Huntress." Was her blunt answer, decisive in keeping her real name a secret. Diana had no issue with that, as she was just as protective of relating her superhero name to the way she looked when out of her armour.

Nodding, Diana merely carried on. "Batman hasn't been protecting Gotham?"

A scoff was her immediate reply. "Have you seen him? It's like he's out to lunch, twenty-four seven. Crime has been on the rise for the last couple of weeks without him suiting up and I'm drowning in robbers and murderers and mafia all over the city."

The more she learned about Bruce's predicament, the worse she felt. Diana had no idea anything was going on for nearly a month, going so far as to ignore the reports about Gotham on the tv for fear of angering her friend further. In reality, he was the one in the greatest danger. Nothing was making sense but everything she was coming to understand was incredibly frightening.

It only made her wish she could soar to Jason faster.

First, she had to handle Huntress, hero to hero. "Thank you for taking care of Gotham. Batman and I don't always have the same methods either, but sometimes, we have to do what's necessary."

That comment managed to garner a grin from the rather grumpy vigilante. "Heh, _you_ get it. But I'm not the only one. In fact, I was planning on calling on an old friend of Bruce's that could be of help to the both of us."

The promise of aid in Bruce's situation was all Diana had wanted from this encounter, and even if it wasn't how she expected to receive it, the end result proved to be worth it. "I'll come back as soon as I am done with another pressing matter. I'll look for you, all right?"

The hands-on-hips pose that Huntress took seemed to be all too familiar to her. "And you'll find me. I'm all over this city now. But please, either learn to fly or get a grappling hook of your own. Your jumping is going to startle the elderly."

"If they had nothing to do with Bruce's situation," Diana teased as she turned to leave. "Then they have nothing to fear." And on that note, she leapt off the skyscraper and carried on towards Wayne Manor.

As pleasant as their confrontation had ended, it did nothing in that moment to help her get to Jason, or Alfred for that matter. Something was going on at the manor and the effects had trickled over into all aspects of Bruce's life, most definitely into his city.

However, Gotham wasn't the only place in the world with its catastrophes, made apparent by the panicked voice of Arthur wailing in her ear suddenly. " _Aquaman here! That damn sludge I collected from all of your cities? Well, it's turning into a monster on its own!_ "

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 _Woo, this ended up being a long one, but I finished it! It was fun, introducing Huntress. And gee, I wonder who she is gonna call on for help?_

 _There are a lot of possibilities racing through Diana's mind, and now that Clark has figured out that it IS indeed Bruce, we are working towards my goal for this story. Hope you enjoyed and you continue to stick around!_ ~ Maiden


	5. Two Black Sheep to the Slaughter

**_In the Middle of a Broken Constellation_**

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** T / 14A

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader's Choice

* * *

The once determined woman who was leaping across Gotham City had suddenly become still, panic seizing her limbs. The call that Aquaman made was indeed something to be concerned about - the toxic, transformative sludge that was at the root of all of the Justice Leagues problems lately grown into a monster of its own - and truly, she was. Whatever this hazardous waste was, it was designed and spread throughout the United States as a means to cause utter chaos, meaning a battle with a humanized version of it could pose as a genuine challenge.

But if she herself took on that challenge, what was she leaving Jason to deal with all on his own?

She was only in the East End and still so far away from him. In the mid-afternoon on such a rambunctious Wednesday, looking out over Gotham from her perch upon one of its many rooftops, all Diana could see were stepping stones that were meant to take her to Wayne Manor. Leaving her quest now to help wrestle their mystery monster into submission would mean that she'd be abandoning the 'reigning member' of Batman's crime-fighting family and perhaps risking losing connection with him for a long while.

But that possibility wasn't high enough to ignore the call of her fellow Founder.

"Wonder Woman here," she felt an ach inside when she answered. Diana dared to carry on as she jumped to her next apartment building, gazing out over the skyline with a twinkle in her bright eyes. "Superman and I are out on a mission. Where are you located?"

" _Off-...oast of -aine!_ " Arthur shouted into his comms, only for the disaster that he was facing to disrupt the connection. Diana could only assume what he was trying to say, given that he mostly supplied her with vowels and not too many hard sounds.

Luckily, there was a member of the League who excelled with managing dysfunctional technology. " _Cyborg here. He's about one hundred fifty miles into the Gulf of Maine, veering towards Portsmouth, Nova Scotia._ "

" _Thanks for the heads up! Flash here. I can be there in a minute, tops!_ " Declared the fastest man alive, with a slightly distorted audio on his line that implied he was already in motion.

The more people who chimed in on the matter, the more guilty Wonder Woman felt. Internally, she cursed herself and forced her voice to rejoin the call. "I'm outside of New York." A divergent truth if she ever heard one. It would take the same amount of time to cross nearly the same length of distance-

Until her empathetic heart managed to create a plan that only elevated her warrior mind's strategy.

Clearing her throat, she added on. "But I can join you in roughly twenty minutes." Which was true, when she recalled that inside the BatCave was Bruce's teleportation pad. If she could reach Jason, help him sort through the situation with Alfred while filling him in on Bruce, then create a communication link between them, she could confidently race off to Arthur's side and help him handle the monster!

It was a hectic plan, no doubt.

Nevertheless, if she could execute it properly, wouldn't require her to choose one disaster over the other.

" _I can be there to help call shots from the air, but I can't risk being knocked into the water._ " Victor tried to offer his presence despite the damage that could happen to his electrical body if he fell into the gulf, and Diana wouldn't want him to take the risk either.

Apparently, despite his currently combative position, Arthur concurred as well. " _-en keep y-ur-… ass home! -et's go, -lash!_ "

" _Let's get this party started_!" Barry nearly cheered into the main League channel before they were switched into their own private one.

Mumbling into her ear digitally, Victor remarked, " _I really don't want to know what was clipped out in the last thing Arthur said_."

"Neither do I," Diana agreed while trying not to laugh. Then, she tapped her ear piece to end the call.

With her disheveled plan in mind, she utilized the restlessness rattling inside of her to make her leaps longer, help her jump higher. After crossing the Sparrng River, she merely had Robbinsville and Crest Hill to work her way through before she would at least find herself in the same part of the city as Wayne Manor! She really missed her Mercedes in a moment such as this, though she doubted it was any easier to drive through such a commercial city during a post-lunch rush.

From fishermen bait shops to department stores to insurance offices, she bolted through Robbinsville with relative ease. She purposely stayed along the metaphysical border to Crime Alley, just in case she heard of any actual criminals acting out while passing by. Suddenly, Clark's comment about her extensive knowledge of the city replayed itself inside her mind and it made Diana pause thoughtfully.

She didn't see her geographical awareness of the city to be all that strange. Given their line of work as superheroes, despite Bruce's resistance, it was only a matter of time before some threat called them into Gotham. Once the argument had happened at the Founders' Meeting all those weeks ago, it seemed inevitably necessary to be prepared. She had enough time worrying about her friend to channel that energy into studying a simple map.

After all, as Diana, she only knew of the districts that entertained the rich and the famous.

The socialites, including the _other_ Bruce.

The one she had only seen glimpses of, but never truly knew.

Her intuition had served her well and so she had nothing to be embarrassed about. Even generals in ancient times would try to map out enemy terrain before charging into battle - what was so odd about her taking the time to understand the layout of Gotham City?

Knowing the districts by name helped her to feel relief when she finally reached Crest Hill, as she understood just how close she was was to Bristol County, where Wayne Manor was located. There were many different manors scattered throughout her last stretch of the journey, which meant that she had to be much more careful about leaping over homes. Scenic, affluent, the area seemed like a wonderful area to have a home for a family.

Though perhaps the closeness of neighbours is why Bruce maintained his manor in the middle of nowhere.

Or perhaps it wasn't as peaceful as the design of the complexes would have her assume.

There was a large crash that tore her away from her perceptions, followed by a guttural cry. Inside one of the many mansions on the street in the Bristol Township, there was a major disturbance taking place. Based on the raw emotion she heard in that muffled cry of a man inside his home, it could have been abusive. It sounded personal and pained, before another hefty boom reached her ears.

For fear of some young victim at the hands of such a wild person, Diana let her emotions take over as she threw herself through the front doors of the home in question.

There were no lights on as the wind swept through the front hall, giving the drapery an eerie look as the floated lifelessly on the breeze. It was cold, dark and chillingly empty, but it made little difference as she spied a leather chair sprawled out in the entryway of what looked to be a living room. In no time at all, she leapt over the cushioned blockade and entered the room.

Only for a gun to be cocked next to her head.

Then, after a small pause, a sigh of relief.  
"Wonder Woman!?" That emotional voice rang in her ears with a twisted sense of relief.

"Jason!?" she sounded pleased to see him, given the lengths she had literally traveled in order to reach him. However, that relief transformed into angered confusion when she motioned to the tattered living room they stood in. "What is all this? Why are you tearing up someone's home!?"

Putting his firearm back in its holster, he ever so casually walked around the damaged space and plopped down on the only seat that wasn't ruined - a floral love seat. "Don't worry, this house was blocked off years ago for a murder and no one's been back since. Well, I had _hoped_ I'd find _someone_ squatting here, but I guess I was GIVING HIM TOO MUCH CREDIT!" His shout was an obvious attempt to lure someone out of hiding if there was in fat another person in the house.

But after a few moments of an awkward silence between them, it was clear they were alone.

"You're lucky no one has called the police to this house," Diana chastised the young man, who looked like he was resting up after a hard day's work now that she had arrived. "I heard you when I was a few streets away."

Being cheeky, he decided to point to his ear and ask her point blank. "Metahuman hearing?"

The gaul he possessed was almost impressive. " _Who_ are you looking for, here?"

It was almost rewarding that her question stalled him, stealing away the quick wit pace he seemed to thrive on. After racing through Gotham, being accosted by Huntress and contemplating abandoning Arthur and Barry so that she could save this young, rowdy, cocky man, Diana felt that she deserved some answers.

She arched a brow and crossed her arms, implying that she refused to move until she learned the reason why they both ended up in a warded off home.

Begrudgingly, he chose to behave and answered, "This is Drake Manor, the old home of the current Robin. At least, I think he is. Who the hell knows how many 'wards' Bruce has now, am I right?"

"And you thought he'd be here?" she interrogated him while looking around the space. There were feathers on the floor from the torn throw pillows, glass sectioning off the middle of the room due to a shattered table that once rested there, and even a massive vacancy on the wall where a large television must have been. Suspiciously, she looked to Jason.

His heavy shrug was much less enthusiastic than his earlier behaviour would have led her to believe. "He's not _anywhere_. I don't understand how Dick isn't at the manor, or how Tim is just MIA. Or what the hell is wrong with Alfred! I feel like I've stepped into an alternate reality where everything I knew here has been turned upside down on me!" His distress was palpable as he used his hands to indicate the directions he assumed his loved ones to be in; witnessing the intense display of loss and anger that stemmed from fear and sadness, Diana knew that Jason was just as mixed up in all of this as she was.

She felt she could empathize with him more so than she ever thought she could. "Jason, Superman and I went to visit Bruce."

His spine shot up straight, but for once, he didn't say anything.

So, she simply carried on. Diana moved to stand in front of him and dropped her arms so as to appear more welcoming than she had before. "When Superman used his X-Ray Vision on him, he said that he noticed… some type of damage done to Bruce's brain. At this point, we don't know what or who caused it, but we think that it might explain his behaviour for the last few weeks. I'm sorry."

It felt necessary to apologize to his next of kin, if Jason could be called that. From the way he spoke of Bruce's crime-fighting organization in Gotham, there was a large number of Robins and Batgirls and allies alike that assisted one another in times of crisis. As the seemingly black sheep of the bat-family - the one who was out of town, and therefore, possibly spared the same treatment of Bruce and Alfred - he returned to find everything he knew to be unlike what he remembered.

Diana could only imagine what it would be like to return to Themyscira, only to find her sisters or even her own mother treating her as though they had never met.

His blue eyes glossed over, and yet, they appeared lifeless. He stared at her without blinking, without moving, and she remained still as he digested her words. "So… is he in a hospital? Gotham General?"

Shaking her head, Diana tried to explain things to him without making everything sound just as confusing as it actually was. "No, he's at work today. It seems he's behaving normally as Bruce Wayne, but we don't know what this brain trauma has to do with him ignoring his responsibilities as Batman or neglecting the Justice League. It's too out of character for him, and we aren't sure how to proceed."

"Then why are you still here?" The question posed was rather confusing given the circumstances, but it was more a surprise when Diana realized that it hadn't come from Jason.

She watched the black sheep raise his firearm once again as she turned around to face whomever so dared to enter the Drake Manor, eavesdropping on their private conversation. As she spun around, she worried that it was in fact the police, or quite possibly a disturbed neighbour.

But never in her estimations would she have expected to see Cyborg shove the leather seat out of the living room doorway and join their unsettling talk.

At once, Diana wanted to question him, despite the reprimand she knew was coming. It seemed more imperative to ask Jason to lower his gun though, given the circumstances. "Jason, it's all right. Cyborg is a member of the League."

"Who has the power of tracking people down, it seems." Mocked Batman's ward, speaking just like his mentor in a way that would have made the old Bruce proud.

Realizing he'd lower his gun when he felt comfortable to do so, Diana reengaged with Victor as she turned back around to face him. Responding to his question, she replied, "I needed to check on Jason. Both Bruce and Alfred are behaving unlike themselves, and we left Jason alone with Alfred to go after Bruce. I couldn't leave him until I knew he was safe."

His sympathy didn't seem to commute at all. "Then why lie to us about it? How can we function as a team when one of us lies, let alone _you_?"

Despite knowing that she should simply back down and apologize, Wonder Woman felt it was vital that she stand her ground. "Superman was following his own lead, and then we were going to return to headquarters and approach you all with our findings. We wanted to see what information we could gather instead of coming back to you all with only our interpretation of the situation."

"That doesn't make it okay, and you know that." Was Cyborg's final evaluation of her explanation.

It took all she had not to sigh with frustration. He wasn't wrong, but he wasn't seeing it from her point of view either. She avoided mentioning Gotham City earlier to avoid a conversation such as this, as Bruce's ban on League members would surely make them all sensitive to those who took it upon themselves to visit.

If only Kal were here, since it was his idea too.

Thankfully, unexpectedly, Jason put his pistol away once again and chose to come to her defence. "Whether it's okay or not, we wouldn't have the information about Bruce's health if Superman and Wonder Woman hadn't come here. So maybe we can take the hostility down a notch."

Victor's mouth shot open, but Diana had had enough bickering for one day. "All that matters is we officially know there is a problem with Bruce."

"Cognitively," Victor stated even though it still sounded as though he wanted clarification. "If something has happened to alter Batman's mind, it could explain why he's been ghosting not only us, but the people who need that antidote. If I could take a look at where the trauma was, it'd be easier to determine what's been going on."

Jason snorted and walked over to stand at Diana's side. "I think he'd notice if a robot showed up at work and started scanning him for damaged parts" - they all could agree on that much - "but maybe you could squeeze Alfred into whatever plan you're trying to come up with? The guy's old and whoever went after Bruce clearly went after him too."

That remark startled so much, as human eye shot open wide, the red circle inside his robotic one shrunk as if surprised. "Do you think that someone infiltrated the manor? Wouldn't Bruce have a security system that would help protect him from this?"

"That's what you can do!" Jason cheered, seemingly steering the conversation in another direction. As Diana and Victor looked at him, he seemed renewed with a new idea. "Cyborg, was it? You can hack into the security system inside the Manor and see if you can find any sort of video to explain what happened. That's one of your robot powers, right?"

Victor eyed Diana as if to indicate that he was feeling exhausted due to the sporadic conversation they were having, but all she could do was concur with the young man. "It's definitely something that would help us make sense of this."

"I agree it's something we need to do," Cyborg concurred, sounding as though he was still strategizing while he spoke. "But given that we are talking about actual brain trauma in this situation, I don't think we can leave Bruce alone while we are trying to figure out who did this to him."

It was a thought that had crossed her mind as well, and so Diana immediately turned to Jason. "Would you be able to stick by him while we work on this? It might take-"

"No, that's not what I meant," it wasn't his intention to be rude, but Cyborg's blunt interruption stifled Wonder Woman's battle plan effectively. Once he had regained the attention of the room, he elaborated on a scheme of his own. "I think we need someone to get inside Wayne Enterprises and remain at his side. We don't know who did this to him or _why_ , meaning we can't guarantee they won't strike again. It has to be someone that he trusts, so they can keep a watchful eye on him."

The room went silent as Diana assumed that the three of them began to ponder how this proposal was possible. Kal had revealed himself as a reporter to an amnesiac Bruce, and Cyborg would stand out if he approached Wayne Tower. Jason could try to get into the building, but now that Alfred had seen his face and treated him like a burglar rather than a friend, he wouldn't be allowed into the manor…

As her curious eyes moved from one face to another, she realized that both of the men were staring at her with some sort of expectation in their eyes. She didn't quite understand - were they expecting her to come up with the answer on her own?

Or… were they expecting _her_ to be the answer?

More unrefined than she had ever been in her life, all Diana could do was spit out a rather noisey, " _Me_?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Sorry I am one day late this week! I had a job opportunity and it messed with yesterday's schedule. But I couldn't deny my readers this juicy chapter, as things are clearly about to be amped up! I hope you enjoyed, and that you look forward to where this story is headed! ~_ Maiden


	6. Make It or Break It

**_In the Middle of a Broken Constellation_**

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** 14A / T

 **Universe:** N/A (Reader's Choice)

* * *

Diana felt ridiculous, which was quite a feat considering she had worn her favourite business attire for such an odd occasion. In a beige blazer dress that could catch the light and shimmer gold, she perceived herself as if she was imbued with the power of the old gods whenever she wore it, but that energy felt like it had been snatched away by the Fates as she walked through the front doors of Wayne Tower. The ruffles that ran vertically over the tops of her thighs caught the breeze that she sauntered through as she made her way towards the front desk, perhaps portraying the confidence that her walk was meant to illustrate.

Her chest lifted high, her lips pursed into a smile, the professional persona of Diana Prince presented herself to the secretary without a single notion of the anxiety she housed inside. "Good morning, my name is Diana Prince and I have an appointment with Lucius Fox for 8:30."

The young woman behind the desk looked up at her with a similar, polite expression. Matching with every other person who was walking through the lobby, she was polished more like a runway model than a typical corporate employee. The name tag peeking out from beneath the blunt cut of her straight blonde hair said 'Delilah' and when she noticed Diana's eyes scroll down to read it, it was almost reflexive for her to toss her golden locks out of the way. "Excellent. Let me just confirm your appointment, Miss Prince."

"Of course." Playing the part of a poised interviewee, it felt natural to fiddle with the cat eye frames she wore as she waited for Delilah to contact Mr. Fox.

However, that earned her a scolding through the earpiece she had hidden beneath her hair. " _Don't move them too much, Diana. The connection is unsteady enough as it is._ " Warned a rather exasperated Cyborg. He was very sensitive about the eyewear she wore since he had only outfitted the lenses as a technological miracle the night before; the last twelve hours had been such a chaotic blur while Jason had worked alongside them in their efforts to sneak her into Bruce's daily life. Almost fitting of the Batman's protege, it was his sneaking suspicion and his breaking and entering into her Mercedes' glove compartment at the JLA headquarters that led to the transformation of simple reading glasses into an impromptu x-ray machine of their own so that they could corroborate Kal's diagnosis.

Though they were most likely not as efficient as the eyes of Superman, it was the best the three of them could do if they planned to expedite her transformation into a Wayne Enterprises staff member.

The only thing Diana had true confidence in was that she knew she interviewed well.

"Miss Prince?" Delilah called to her as she tapped off the call she supposedly had with Lucius through the headset she wore.

She brought her hands together and clutched her resume folder unnecessarily tight when she replied. "Yes?"

The secretary didn't seem to notice. "Mr. Fox is in a meeting on the thirty fourth floor at the moment, but you can head upstairs through the elevators down the hallway to your left and wait for him outside of Board Room C."

"Thank you." Was her final words to Delilah as she followed her directions. The moment she turned her body to face the lobby again, it felt much like a more condensed version of Grand Central Station. There were so many bodies walking in every single direction, all with a purpose in mind, all relatively at the same quickened pace. She knew that Wayne Tower was the epicenter of Wayne Enterprises because it was the base of Mr. Wayne himself, but maneuvering through the multitude of people reminded Diana of a battlefield of sorts.

Or perhaps that was a projection of her Amazonian mind set, given the way she thought of her interview with Lucius Fox to be a battle she couldn't afford to lose.

So much of their approach to dealing with Bruce's situation fell onto her shoulders. After Victor's suggestion that she play the part of a potential hire when they first spoke about it at Drake Manor, Jason refused to accept any sort of rebuttal she had made. It was true that Victor couldn't have entered the building without drawing attention to himself, and the reaction that Alfred had to the previous Robin insinuated that there would be no favour gained if they sent him in for the meeting.

During their entire time traveling to the JLA headquarters to formulate a plan of attack, Diana hadn't been able to think of a better person to take her place either.

Now here she was, the next day, riding an elevator to meet the man in charge behind the scenes of Bruce's company.

" _You've got this, Diana_." Assured Victor in a whisper, doing his best to lend her some kind of support. She appreciated the gesture, and it never failed to amaze her how such a small gesture could keep her grounded; even though he couldn't swap places with her, he wasn't going to leave her to handle this situation on her own. She had until she reached the third-fourth floor to rid herself of any doubts and play herself up to be the corporate version of Wonder Woman - the woman who could accomplish anything, while wearing a power suit instead of a girdle.

When the doors opened, she stepped out onto the floor as if she was prepared to thank Mr. Fox for hiring her on the spot.

Having tumbled through the industrial uprising on her own and having to apply for job after job, updating her credentials constantly and trying to keep up with every advancement that had come and gone over the years, she knew of the energy and fervor that employers looked for when hiring. If she was going to land a position during a meeting she set up last night, she'd need to embody the confidence it would take to impress her future boss.

The signs she saw along the wall indicated the alphabetical conference rooms were to her left, and she merely had to walk towards the room in the corner of the floor to find the one that Delilah had instructed her to visit. Board Room C was hidden behind a dark oak door, but there were some soft-looking seats in the hallway to act as an informal waiting room. She was ready to sit down and perhaps look over the version of her resume that she had brought to the interview, but it appeared as though there wouldn't be a moment to rest.

The door handle to the boardroom shifted with a rather noise clang before it swung open. Catching the end of a conversation, she heard the final thoughts of one of the people in the meeting, spoken in a strikingly familiar voice. "And I just think that we can do something more by turning some of our focus over to research. It makes no sense to solely work on treatments, considering how much money we can funnel into Wayne Medical!"

The door flew open, and slowly but surely, Bruce Wayne himself entered her line of sight. His hair was messier than she had ever seen it, and one too many of his shirt buttons were left open as he entered the hall. She had never seen such a disheveled version of him, but there was no doubt that she had stumbled upon the man she was looking for much earlier than she could have ever hoped for. Seeing him like this - so soon! - nearly stole the air from her lungs.

A rather grainy chuckle followed closely behind Bruce's claims, and it was none other than Lucius Fox himself who found those remarks about Wayne Medical hilarious. "Says the man who no longer has to run the numbers."

The two men let the discussion flow into the hall without much concern for who might also be dallying on the floor. Bruce especially, as he replied with a clipped tone. "Hey, with the money we have, what matters most is…"

Suddenly, he spotted Diana waiting there when he turned to leave, but it looked as if he had walked into an invisible wall when his foot fell to the floor.  
"...your passion."

Lucius looked to see what had caught Bruce's eye, and she suddenly felt like a spectacle. The energy radiating off of her friend was raw, unfiltered as he stood next to a man who gave off a much more regal air. It felt like she had stunned him, awed him, his gaze fixated on her so strongly that it made her skin feel warm beneath her clothes. The chances of finding him in the building within minutes of her arrival was unfathomable, and yet here he was, feasting on the sight of her with a look in his eyes that reminded her of only one other interaction they had ever had.

At a certain party, when the Batman used Bruce Wayne to speak to her privately.

It felt like tearing velcro apart to look away from him, but she had to. Turning to Lucius, she took charge of the awkward beat that passed between them and offered out her hand. "Good morning, my name is Diana Prince."

"Ah, Miss Prince. Thank you for waiting. I was just finishing an _unscheduled_ meeting with a _rather insistant_ man." The look he gave Bruce was reprimanding, almost reminiscent of how a father might feel exasperated by their rambunctious son. It was only when he was mocked did the owner of the company realize that he was behaving rather inappropriately, performing a small double take as he looked between the only other people in the hallway.

Diana plastered a casual grin on her face and turned to offer her hand to him, too. "Is that the way to make sure I do well in my interview, Mr. Wayne? Insist that I am the woman for the job?" She quipped at him, all while letting him know that she recognized who he was, despite the ambiguous way that Lucius referred to him. She needed to demonstrate her intelligence as well as promise that she could commit to the role, all while behaving with the air of a seasoned socialite. It was her intention to wow them so that they would be moved to offer her any position, not just the one she applied for in the middle of the night.

But when Bruce took her hand, she felt the corners of her lips quiver. She had been so panicked over the wellbeing of this man for weeks, and now he was casually shaking her hand. Despite the trauma she needed to uncover, he looked looked to be the picture of health and it was striking to have him so close to her when that was all she wanted for an unfair amount of time. This was a different Bruce before her though, that she could tell.

Still, it was _him_.

Her whole point of being here was to make sure that he was protected, and for the first time while stumbling through this plan, she relished in a single moment.

"Well, I don't know if Lucius will appreciate anyone emulating _me_ in order to get their foot in the door," he attempted comedy with her after gawking for much too long, and she had seen the gears inside his mind turn to form a joke with perfect timing. But they kept turning, nearly spinning out of control when he decided to tack on. "Perhaps I should sit in to make sure he's treating you fairly. He has been known to get rather cranky after dealing with me, you know."

"That's not necessary-" Lucius tried to pipe up, but was verbally stomped down.

"Is that not true? Do you not find me irritating at times?"

"You know I can't argue with that-"

"Great! I'll be the good cop then. Let's go!" And he held out his arm in the direction of the boardroom's open doorway, implying that she was welcome to enter first.

His motive was still hazy, yet it was absolutely transparent. She didn't sense any sort of sordid energy from him, however, he wasn't done observing her himself. It hadn't occurred to her until she nodded with gratitude at his gesture and wandered inside that perhaps he recognized her. She had only assumed that his reaction to Kal had meant that something happened to his memory - was she being watched like a hawk because Bruce realized that she was in his city, unannounced, unwelcomed, and he was secretly unhinged?

All she could do now was wander over to one of the black leather rotating chairs at the table and make her way through the interview that her civilian life hinged on. Diana Prince's life revolved around the outcome of this interaction, and she couldn't allow anything to come in the way of that either.

A hiss in her ear warned her of Victor's voice sounding off again. " _I need you to keep him in your line of sight for the entire interview, if we want to take advantage of this opportunity. I know that might be strange, but we can evaluate him faster if we get this information today._ "

Of course Bruce had to sit at the head of the table, while Lucius sat across from her. Diana pretended to fix her seat, then crossed her legs rather dramatically so she could afford the angle Cyborg needed without appearing strange. The windows that acted as the exterior walls to the room rested behind her, she watched as the other two fixed themselves in their seats too before the interview began.

She couldn't help but notice that Bruce's appearance was much tidier now than it was in the hallway, as if he took advantage of her turned back to fix himself up.

But Lucius pretended that he wasn't with them at all, and immediately held out his hand for her resume. "Now, I must say Miss Prince, this is a rather odd interview. I've never had a call from someone's current employer in the middle night, giving me a reference for an employee of theirs that I didn't even know was interested in working for Wayne Enterprises."

Diana knew this was coming, so she wasn't at all thrown off balance by the indirect question. "As you can see in my resume, my previous career has allowed me to work all over the world. It allowed me to see places that most do not get a chance to see, and meet people who are most often forgotten. I've heard about the people who are infected in places like Metropolis and Central City and Gotham City, and I realized that I could not consciously stand by and carry on with my life anymore without helping those who need it."

"But why here?" To her surprise, Lucius hadn't been given the chance to ask a follow up question. Bruce had decided that it was pertinent information to ask her something that felt more like he had taken on the role of a 'bad cop', with how sharply he asked her.

She faced him to answer him, and to help Cyborg's scan. "Because I know that the type of work experience I have would better benefit an organization that tackles these issues on a larger scale. I can travel anywhere I need to be, I can speak many languages, I always conduct myself professionally-"

Apparently, Bruce wasn't buying her explanation. "No no, I'm asking you _why_ you chose Wayne Enterprises to be your new employer? Why not the Red Cross? Or the Peace Corps? They travel, they probably could use a secretary at their head office."

His behaviour was irking both herself and Lucius, but she charged at him with her answer before their 'discussion' could be interrupted. "I have encountered the Wayne Foundation before, and done my research in regards to their outreach programs. I am not asking to be a secretary, I am intending to be on the ground where the Wayne Foundation is needed."

Her rebuttal lead to a stare down, which suited her just fine. It had taken a great deal of convincing to make Victor and Jason see that this was the most practical entrance she had into Bruce's company, and into his personal life. Being a secretary didn't promise interactions with him beyond appointment-scheduling and possible errand-running; if she worked inside the building for a foundation that traveled and moved his money around, it would most likely result in his presence being more relevant in meetings, in information he'd need for interviews and investors meetings.

She also read articles about his relationship with Lucius Fox, and realized that he was her ticket into his inner circle, so that she could receive more of his time with a genuine excuse to have it.

It nearly startled Diana when Lucius found her response funny, laughing from behind her resume. When Bruce glared at him though, she assumed by the nuances of their friendship that the laughter was actually directed at Mr. Wayne. However, he pushed passed their interaction to address her properly. "So you're going from an office job that allowed you to travel, to investing all of your time and energy in our international charity organization."

"Yes." Was her confident reply. She dare not make it seem as if Bruce's behaviour turned her off of the opportunity.

Lucius remained calm until the moment he laid her resume back down on the table, then he interrogated her without remorse. "This isn't the type of work that allows you to take a break when you're feeling exhausted you know. We need go getters, people who can handle their personal life and their career simultaneously. It can sound cruel, but you won't be babied if you're here, even if you're new. I'd throw you in once all of your documentation is cleared, and then you'll be expected to stand alongside every other person I have employed at this level. Do you understand that?"

The challenge he was presenting with not only made her respect Lucius, but it also inspired her for this career she was once questionably applying for. This is the man she had read online about, the one known to have the 'Midas Touch', where he can turn any failing business into gold due to his own personal strengths. Working for someone as determined as him reminded her of being trained on Themyscira as a girl, where she wanted to master the talent of those above her.

With honest enthusiasm, she answered him. "I wouldn't expect anything less. I understand that my application seems sudden, but I believe that when you're passionate about something, you need to chase after it or you waste all of your time worrying about what could have been. The people I hope to help don't have those opportunities, so I should take advantage of them when I do."

There was a pause, there was an exchanging of glances between the three of them, but her energy refused to be melted down into any sort of nervous energy.

That is, until she received an update through her earpiece. " _We're only at 21% of the scan. Keep them talking_ -"

"Well this interview feels like it's over." Was Lucius' ending comment, as he began to raise to his feet. He handed off the resume to a slouching Bruce Wayne, who flipped off the cover page and began to perform a personal audit of her listed experience and credentials. Within the blink of an eye, she went from feeling confident in her presentation to wondering what on Earth had just happened.

"Oh, really? Well, thank you for your time." She heard herself saying, despite the confusion she felt. She offered her hand again to Lucius robotically while trying to keep Bruce in her line of sight for Victor.

Graciously, Mr. Fox smiled at her as though she interviewed well, but she couldn't really say since it was over and done with all too quickly. "I'll be sure to contact you once I've received your background check, all right? Thank you for coming in today."

" _Diana! Are you leaving? I can't move any faster._ "

It felt like she was caught in a whirlwind, being told that it was time to go while needing to stay. She looked directly at Bruce and tried to offer him her hand, but all she could was that she had to make this moment last…!

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Woo! I made it before the end of the day (in my time zone, at least). I have been working on this all day, so I hope you enjoyed it. I knooow it's taking a while for WonderBat to happen, so I wanted to make sure you got a taste of something more solid this chapter. Hope you enjoyed, and I WILL see you next Monday! ~_ Maiden


	7. Heating Up and Cooling Off

_**In the Middle of a Broken Constellation**_

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** T / 14A

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader's Choice

* * *

For someone who claimed to be able to avoid succumbing to any nervous energy, it panicked Diana when she was obligated to stand with her interviewers. It must have been some business tactic of theirs - to keep the conversation short and sweet, to see if her enthusiasm was just as willful as the process in which she made her application happen - but it was counterproductive for her to leave in that very moment.

" _Who knows when we'll be this close to Bruce again! We're only at 22%, and I can't do anything if the scan doesn't finish._ " Victor knew of her comprehension of their plan. The wailing on the other end of their connection was almost therapeutic, as it allowed her to hear own concerns aloud. Living vicariously through her friend's panic would allow her to formulate a new plan of action with a quickly salvaged sense of calm.

She fixed her skirt with a plastered-on grin, then offered her hand to each of them. "Thank _you_ for entertaining my sudden urge to change careers. I can only hope you were more so impressed than you were put off." Her attempt at self-deprecation was meant to encourage them to praise her, to hear themselves admit that they enjoyed the effort she had put forth to shake up her entire life.

Lucius had shook her hand softly and let his mouth fall open as if he was about to speak, but with Bruce Wayne in the room with them, that was unlikely to happen. In fact, he had held his hand out while waiting for her to turn to him so that it was her responsibility to reach for his gesture. Their palms met when she leaned in and the force he applied clearly housed an ulterior motive. Was it to intimidate her? Impress her, to know her boss' boss was strong?

Either way, it was much too prideful and misguided for any man to think he could strongarm an Amazon.

She was unafraid of his eyes when he tried to leer into her, as she knew those eyes all too well. She was even less frightened to match his might when her hand shake offered them the chance to arm wrestle right there in the boardroom. While a flash of shock appeared behind that intense stare of his, he managed to mumble out. "I'm sure Lucius is used to someone disrupting him at home all the time, anyway."

He stole away her chance to be commended, that devious Bruce! Just for that, she made sure to lift up their hands just a tad and perform a proper shake while her future boss managed to get a word in. "And the man who is typically responsible for disrupting me is the one approving of you doing that."

"Who, me? It's more my company than anything else." Suddenly cheeky, Bruce pretended to give her a secret look that warned her of Lucius fibbing. Their hands were still connected, his expression was something familiar, and it nearly undid the knot on her spine that kept her upright. There were times when she had him by her side and she wished for this level of comradery, and here she was, playing a part in order to get close to him right away with her heart thundering in her chest.

Was this the effect Bruce Wayne had on unsuspecting ladies?

Lucius' chuckle grew louder as he stood next to them, and it was only then that Diana realized how inappropriate it might seem to her potential employer that she had yet to let go of Mr. Wayne's hand. Her elbow jerked back but she hoped she recovered smoothly in their eyes when she contributed to the banter. "Well, since you warned me that emulating you wouldn't get me the job, I promise that'll never happen again, Mr. Fox."

Bruce being unable to hide just how galvanized he was by her joke amused them both and Lucius nearly coughed over his laughter. Just as he had trampled on her hope of being complimented, she made sure to tear down his expectation of being recognized as the powerhouse of such a renowned company. It was so natural for her to smile at him with her triumph written all over her face.

However, the merriment of their conversation was paused when a knock was heard at the door. "Ah, that's for me," Lucius grumbled as he composed himself, looking to the watch on his wrist. "Come in!"

Slowly, a young man with round glasses peeked his head into the room, hesitant but dutiful. "Mr. Fox? We have Mr. Hunt on hold for you on line two. Would you like to take the call here?"

"No, no. I'll return to my office. Ms. Prince, it was a pleasure. Hopefully, your boss is just as quick in sending over those documents I need as he is at vouching for you. Until next time." With a polite nod of his head, Lucius made his way over to the door and the timid young man, patting him on the shoulder as they made their way down the hall…

Leaving her alone with Bruce.

He must have been confused as to why the air was so heavy between them. Without a third person to provide some levity, Diana felt their natural chemistry - the sort that could explode on a moment's notice - rest upon them with that familiar sense of caution. Perhaps he'd just assume it was attraction and let the sensation provide his ego with yet another reason to inflate. Regardless, she knew what it was: disagreement, drastically different methods of strategizing coupled with equally fierce desires to always be the first to strike.

Which was why it was almost adorable when they both attempted to speak at the same time and she was able to witness Bruce crumbling ever so slightly, if only to be polite. She made sure to take advantage of the opportunity. "I hope I'm not keeping you from a meeting of your own, Mr. Wayne?"

"I think everyone here gave up waiting on me a long time ago," He admitted to her with very little prompting, not afraid that he had most assuredly angered a few of his possible investors or board members in his time as head of the company. "So they'll survive without me for another few minutes." Then, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and stood still in front of her.

"Oh?" The question fell from her lips as the insinuation sat with her: Bruce was making time for her of his own accord, without any scheming required on her part. It was just as flattering as it was disheartening, as she wondered if there was a part of him that itched to remember who she was while the sparks of their bond flickered between them.

Did she feel familiar to him?

Did he feel comfortable with her without knowing why?

Was he trying to figure everything out on his end while having forgotten so many facts?

As if he could sense her plummeting mood, Victor hummed to her softly. " _We're at 44%, Diana_."

She recovered in the blink of an eye and added more to her breathy utterance. "I don't know if a bad cop is as effective without a good cop to balance him."  
"I was the good cop." He reminded her, but all Diana had to do was tilt her head at a small angle, arch a brow his way, and Bruce offered a revisition. "In the beginning. Had to keep you on your toes, you know."

"It was definitely one of the most interesting interviewing tactics I've seen, considering I didn't know Mr. Wayne was going to be here."

She meant to keep things light, she truly did. But there was something in his tone that resembled the Batman when he dared to observe her without any hesitation or reservation. "You don't strike me as the type of woman to be intimidated easily, Miss Prince."

That remark felt dangerous. She heard a warning in the back of her mind that recognizing anything about his offhand opinion would result in a shift between them. He could have meant his words as a compliment, but it sounded like a thinly veiled flirtation.

It felt like one, too.

She was much more used to an overbearing Bruce - the man beneath the cowl tended to take control and refused to let moments pass by in conversations just so they could end faster. The man in front of her loved to let words resonate during the following silence just so their impact was heavier, enough to leave someone breathless while they scrambled to form a response.

The Amazonian in her refused to falter to a challenge, despite the dangerous line she was toying with depending on what she did next. Wickedly, intentionally, her lips parted slowly as though she was trying to conjure a response out of thin air. But then she confidently fired out, "I'm not."

Then, she waited for his reply.

However, that was her mistake.

It was like a crackling of thunder before a lightning bolt struck the earth. It nearly devastated her when the shock ran through her body, with her toes catching fire as if the land beneath her was suddenly ablaze. When Bruce heard the defiance in her tone, he took in a breath so deep, his chest swelled beneath his suit in a way that resembled the inflation of her heart. With two simple words, she had somehow stole away the blaze attitude of Mr. Wayne and had discovered a happy medium between the man he had become and the hero she once knew. He felt tangible when she saw him scowl and for a moment, she imagined that he would reveal to her that he had only been playing some sort of role the entire time.

No, instead, he murmured low. "Good." He even attempted a smirk, but there was something about the demand of a cordially smile that felt much too heavy in that moment.

" _Hey_ ," a whily ex-robin chirped through her ear piece. She didn't think he was speaking directly to her despite how clear his question was. " _Is she my new mommy, and no one told me_?"

Diana nearly gagged on the necessity she felt to respond to such a remark.

Instead, she merely cleared her throat while Victor updated her. " _57%, and that's with me trying to amp it up as best as I can._ "

Exhausted, irritated and complete flummoxed, it was all she could to come up with a response without making it obvious that she wanted to rip her earpiece out of her ear. "For the foundation, you mean?" She felt back onto her professionalism in order to avoid crossing anymore lines and making this interaction delve into uncharted, unsafe territory.

Now it was Bruce's turn to clear his throat, and he went so far as to remove his hands from his pockets and cross his arms over his once swollen chest, now hiding his emotions from her in such a stunning shift that Barry himself would have been impressed. "Exactly. As great as the work is, there will be challenges."

"Such as?"

"Well, many socialites lie and say they'll donate money to keep face, then play dumb when you follow up on their fake generosity. We also have other organizations whose CEOs want the tax benefit of dropping anchor in certain parts of the world, so they'll definitely try to bully you out of your place. But worst of all, there are people in this very city that like to play the role of some comic book villain and stop us from getting resources out from this very building to those in need." Bruce spoke with such zeal that he released one of his hands from his criss crossed arms in order to help illustrate his feelings towards such despicable people.

Hearing him speak with such undeniable intensity didn't impress Diana, because she knew of his heart and the power it held. What really overcame her in that moment was a sense of loss: if everything he had just told her was true - and even this confused version of him could reference the villains that plagued the city - why was he so dead set on keeping Gotham City so pure of any other heroes?

Why was the League banned from helping him when it sounded as though both of his identities had a heavy burden to bare?

Just imagining what she had agreed to take on now that she had applied to work for the Wayne Foundation made her square her shoulders in preparation for the upcoming battles she'd surely face.

"But it's still a great city." He felt compelled to add, it seemed, perhaps in response to her standing taller as a gut reaction to his warnings.

His love for Gotham ran so deep, and it made her recall her adoration of Themyscira in order to catch a glimpse of that type of affection felt like. It made her think of the terrain, the signature beauty of such a paradise, and all of her sisters that still lived there alongside their queen…

"I imagine it's an even better city because of the love and devotion your parents put into it." She made sure to smile softly while daring to make such a remark. In her research of the company, she learned that both Thomas and Martha Wayne had their own foundations that were dedicated to bettering the lives of Gotham's citizens: Thomas' was medical like his career whereas Martha's focused on supporting orphanages and charities that she helped even in her pre-marital life. The amount of good that the Waynes did for this city seemed to be in their blood.

To her surprise, it was a comment that Bruce merely shrugged off. Not in a way that implied he was bashful, but in a honest bland reaction to her praise. "Yeah, it's a shame that they don't get to see it though."

Assuming he was suddenly fronting for his grief, Diana tried to cover up her possible insensitivity. "I'm sure they're proud of what it's become, though."

She had genuinely believed that her socially acceptable end to such a delicate topic was foolproof, that she had made a mistake and her backtracking was infallible. But when she heard Bruce's response, she almost felt her blood run cold. "Maybe if they called sometime, I'd know."

"Call?" It was all she could do not to stutter whens he spat the word out.

Her shock didn't seem to be Bruce's priority, his eyes growing hooded as he spoke. "Or email, or Skype. Lots of ways to communicate nowadays, but retirement must keep them busy… Shall we?" Suddenly, they were leaving the boardroom as gestured by Bruce, who took it upon himself to head into the hallways first. He nearly stomped through the doorway and unknowingly ended his connection to Victor's scan.

Given the silence in the room and the absence of a percentage update, it seemed as though they were all too stunned to care.

Bruce had been made to forget that his parents were dead, and that on its own was a very huge clue in the mystery of what had happened to him…

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 _What!? Bruce doesn't know about the biggest moment in his life!? I am trying to move a bit faster and focus less on making this story seem like a comic, you know? So I hope this chapter makes it feel like you're getting more meat out of the story!_

 _Also, please let me know if you prefer the chapter at this length? I wrote one page less because I worry the length is too much. I'd appreciate your feedback, and I hope you stick around for the next chapter!_ ~ Maiden


	8. House Warming Party

_**In the Middle of a Broken Constellation**_

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** T / 14A

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader's Choice

* * *

The buzz in the lobby of Wayne Tower was chaotic the moment Bruce led Diana off of the elevator and towards the main entrance. Guests were paralyzed, employees were trying to busy themselves so as to appear worthy of being in his presence, and it gave her the impression that his arrival was like that of a foreboding thunder cloud, as if they had all been struck by a single bolt of lightning once he had appeared before them. A storm of his own design, he walked tall and made sure to put more weight into his heels when they reached the intricate tile design in the center of the marble floor.

Yet, in contrast to this moment entirely, his own energy moments ago was similar to that of his staff when they were alone in the elevator.

Diana knew that he must have felt he overshared when discussing the absence of his parents from his life, despite the conflicting report he had given her to what she had always believed to be the truth. In an effort to appear confident once more he had silenced himself to present her with a mysterious front, however, it was clear that he was regretful of the way with which he had portrayed such a personal matter. Bruce couldn't have known that he had confided in her a handful of times in the past, and seeing him shut her out when they were alone as they traveled down to the ground floor gave her the genuine feeling of her stomach plummeting inside.

But the sharp turn he performed when he was inches from the revolving doors in the lobby drew her out of such melancholy though, as he offered her his hand. In the blink of an eye, they were meant to forget the end of their conversation and return to a much more socially acceptable state of a potential boss' boss and a new hire. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Prince. I hope Lucius makes the right choice."

Taking her victories where she could find them in times like these, those words really wound up the crank she had in her back, pulling her shoulders back and returning the gesture with ease. "I appreciate your confidence, Mr. Wayne. I'll be sure to let you know what he's decided by tomorrow morning-"

She allowed for a beat to pass between them, just to watch his brows attempt to pinch together over his nose, wondering what she meant by her words.  
"-when I stop by your office to say hello, before heading to my own."

Both of their grins must have seemed so cheeky, as she realized that they mirrored one another with how quickly they smiled. "I'll be on the lookout for you then. I get the feeling you aren't one to disappoint."

"No, but I am the type that makes you wait and see what it is you'll be getting." And with one last strong-armed shake, she let Bruce go for the moment - as regretful as she was to do so now that she finally had him so close - and exited the tower with her head held high. Once she stepped onto the sidewalk, Diana took a deep breath to reward herself for the strong performance she had put on in her meeting. The sun still hadn't made its way into Gotham, but it hovered behind the weakest cloud coverage she had seen over the city thus far, and she saw that as a wonderful omen.

"Well who would have thought," a voice she knew all too well stole her away from her moment of peace, and Diana turned her head so fast to the right that she could have given herself whiplash. "I would have found you exactly where I left you."

Diana had to force herself to swallow the name she typically called her friend, as they were in public. And, she thought to herself as a sidebar, she would most likely need to get in the habit of referring to him by the name that others did on Earth. "Clark!"

Dressed in the same suit as he was the day before, only with a slight shadow along his jaw, Superman stood before her in his civilian disguise and looked completely worn. "Sorry I was gone so long. I should have contacted you or Victor, but I got really swept up with Vicki."

"You were with her ever since you ran off yesterday?" Diana couldn't hide her surprise as she gawked at what he was saying. Never mind his job, she couldn't help but wonder how Lois would have felt about that.

But to match her shock with his own, Clark pointed at the building behind her and rightfully asked, "Were you just walking out of Wayne Tower?"

They stared one another down, as if a mutual understanding passed between them, letting the other know that they both had to do some outlandish things to get the information they required, and Diana knew she had no right to judge anyone considering the lengths she was going to for this. Sighing, she decide that if they all had time off today, she knew where they'd be catching up. "Why don't we talk somewhere more private?"

"Or we could go to a diner, have a cup of coffee? I could really use one right about now." Said the man who had all of the powers in the universe. Maybe Gotham's constantly cloudy coverage wasn't providing him with the energy he actually needed, she couldn't help but wonder.

As they walked, Diana led him towards the city parking lot that was across the street. "I'll order some food up to the apartment. How does that sound?"

"Apartment? Whose?"

"Well," she hummed as she clicked the automatic start for her Mercedes, listening to his roar to a start as they stepped beyond the chain link fence and into the lot. "Let's just say there's a lot you need to be caught up on."

* * *

Jason unlocked the door to room 15J and swung it open by holding onto the top of it. "Welcome to best apartment in Gotham's East End!" cheered the young man who was behaving much more like a realtor than anything else. Diana watched his playful persona fade ever so slightly when he saw who she brought with her. "Oh hey! Welcome back. I thought you were dead."

"Because I went to talk to someone?" Clark wondered, sounding surprised that Jason would make such a leap in logic.

Diana, despite being amused by the conversation, made sure to question him with an arched brow. "Can I enter my apartment now, please?"

For the first time since she met him, Jason not only obeyed, but he did so without a word. Now that her doorway was empty, Diana stepped inside and looked at the apartment that she had blindly purchased through the 'reigning Batman's' eyes in the middle of the night. The first thing she noticed was the brick walls, which nearly sent her into a tizzy. "Jason!"

"What!?" Was his panicked response as he stayed against the door he was so fond of holding onto.

"You didn't tell me the walls were exposed brick!"

"What's wrong with that?" To her surprise, Clark got the question out before Jason did.

It was all she could do to keep her voice down. "This is an older building, isn't it? How old?"

Quick to defend himself, her unofficial realtor seemed to take offense to her question and put one hand on his hip while the other motioned to the small entryway they were all crammed in. "It was torn down and rebuilt by Bruce, like, twenty years ago. He made sure everything was up to code while making sure it still had that old Gotham charm."

"Why is that an issue, Diana?" Came the innate curiosity of Clark Kent.

"Because these types of surfaces aren't energy efficient and can create mold very easily. If there is brick sealant on them, it's not as much of an issue. An accent wall is fine, but an entire apartment?" After having moved from many places in her immortal lifetime, Diana had learned many things about being a homeowner, and what she needed to be careful of when sacrificing sensibility for aesthetic.

As the door slammed closed behind them, Jason grumbled. "Gee, tell us how you really feel," Her vibrant eyes met his instantly, but he wouldn't take anymore of her critiques. "It's not the whole apartment, all right? This hallway has it, the backsplash in the kitchen and the fireplace are brick, and the two bedrooms each have an accent wall. Otherwise, it's _fine_."

Trying to diffuse the tension in his country boy way, Clark muttered with honest excitement. "Ooh, a fireplace."

Hearing that little attempt of his to find the silver lining made Diana feel like a bit of a tyrant, and she knew she had to reign herself in. Moving from her old apartment to Gotham suddenly was costing her so much money, and she'd no doubt have to downsize her belongings. Everything in her civilian life was happening so fast when she was usually so much more orderly about switching locations, finding new lifestyles and reinventing herself.

It wasn't a reinvention this time, she knew.

It was a more like a sting operation.

"Is this a walk-in closet, in the front hall?" Diana wondered aloud as she opened the door. Indeed, there was enough room to store all of her coats, at the very least, given how far back the bars went. Considering the square footage of the place, the storage she had discovered already was an instant point in Jason's favour.

Taking on his apparent side job with great pride, he even decided to point out another great aspect. "If you notice, the hardwood flows throughout the entire place, from the closet to the living room to the bedrooms."

"Perfect," Diana praised his attention to detail more than the flooring as they finally decided to enter the apartment itself. Immediately to their right was a very long living space, with that highly revered fireplace on the wall closest to her. It would have been a feat to not be impressed by the size of such a lounge area, given that there were supposedly two bedrooms as well. In fact, the room that was cutting off the possibility of an open concept made her wonder. "Is this the first bedroom here?"

Jason smiled wider than she anticipated. "Yup. It's a bit of an awkward spot since it's between the kitchen and the living room, but I think it's so the bathroom and kitchen can be closer, since they both need plumbing?" The more he went on, the more it sounded like he was trying to answer a teacher's question in a classroom and lost his train of thought.

Diana noticed that as well, considering she could see the fridge sticking out of the kitchen from her stance in the hall. Peeking in, it was somewhat cramped, but there was a dishwasher staring her down from the other end of the room and she was incredibly grateful to know that she'd have one here.

The bathroom was tiled with a large enough bath, and the linen closet sat right outside the door for convenience, which Diana appreciated as well. But again, she was enamoured with the two closets that sat across from the bathroom, as it allowed for even more places to store her collectibles, the treasures she had found throughout her time of traveling the world, and it meant she wouldn't need to place them in some sort of safety deposit box at a bank in the city.

Then, they reached the master bedroom and Diana felt all of her worries melt away. She could make anything work in her favour when it came to living spaces, so long as it didn't cost her an arm and a leg. Nevertheless, the size of her own little oasis - her private quarters where she could shed her persona and just be herself - was surprisingly generous. Purchasing the place as quickly as she had made her worry about the faith she had blindly put in Jason.

Quickly, she had realized that he was more than deserving of her trust and admiration.

When she turned to face Clark and Jason, she realized they had stood in the hallway and were anxiously awaiting her verdict, unable to move while she had wandered throughout the apartment. Giggling to herself, she called to her realtor. "Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"I love it."  
"I knew you would!" So he said, but the exhaustion in his tone hinted that he might have been lying. Making her way back over to the other two, she noticed that even Clark was much more relieved. Until he was punched on the shoulder, that is. "And now, I have a handy muscle man to help me move in everything tomorrow."

The wording of his observation was rather odd to Diana. "You're going to take care of the moving trucks? You don't have to do that."

"Well, it's the least I can do for you since you put your name on the lease." Again, the way he was carrying on with the conversation felt as though he had a different perception if what was to come than she did.

Now, it was Clark's turn to take Diana's side as he crossed his arms and removed himself from Jason's side. With a furrowed brow a straight lined lip, he chose to get straight to the point. "What aren't you telling her, Jason?"

A gloved hand ran through black hair, highlight the white stripe that resided over his forehead. It was impossible to appear calm while exhibiting such nervous behaviour, but having only known him for a bit more than a day now, Diana wasn't surprise that he'd attempt it. "It's not that I am not telling her something, it's that I was hoping that I could make a deal with her and crash in the second bedroom." To emphasize his point, he presented exhibit A of his argument by motioning to the very bedroom he was hoping to live in for the foreseeable future.

Though it wasn't an inconvenience, Diana was definitely disappointed to be finding out about his intentions this way. "Why didn't you just ask me last night, when you were helping me comb through listings? You were so adamant I had to have a second room for an office, but now it leads me to believe you tricked me into this location."

Her disillusionment didn't reach Jason, or rather, he wouldn't let it impact his attempt at convincing her to let him move in. "I'm not trying to take over the room! I'll sleep on a futon, and I'll fold it up into a couch before I leave in the morning. I just can't stay at the manor with Alfred the way he is, so I don't have anywhere to stay in Gotham now. But I'll work off my debt to you, I promise."

His face had sifted through many emotions as he proclaimed his thought process to her, and Diana knew he wasn't truly trying to lie to her. In all honesty, she could afford a place this size on her own quite easily and didn't need a second income of any kind, so it wasn't off putting to have Jason stay as a guest. Based on the way he had gone about things, it was clear to her that he didn't feel as though she would have accepted his suggestion of living together if he asked her outright and that must have stemmed to the way he had been treated in the past. He had projected rejection onto her and hoped to have gratitude motivate her decision.

When, really, she knew how to handle this predicament with simply her heart.

"Jason," Diana began with her signature tone, lightly stern, completely genuine. "I would never turn you away from staying with me. You can have the second bedroom, but make sure you're more straightforward with me in the future. Is that clear?"

Never before had she been able to truly study his face so precisely, as the way he gaped at her allowed her to take in of the smaller features of his face. So overcome by her generosity, he couldn't front the defensive guard he was so proud of. So stunned was he, that she didn't even anticipate a notion of gratitude. It meant the world to her that someone like Jason trusted her enough to want to stay with her, to share a place with her and be in each other's space for more than just what their joint 'mission' might call for.

She knew Jason would abide by her one rule, which is why she didn't mind in the slightest when Clark looked towards her and decided to move beyond the conversation at hand. "I'm glad your apartment is to your liking, Diana. But I do have to make it to the Daily Planet at least at some point today, so would it be all right if we discuss what I learned from Vicki?"

"Actually, I think we'd like to know what she said too."

There was a new voice in the conversation, distinctively male, and he referred to more than one entity suddenly entering not only their discussion, but the apartment too. The intrusion echoed, which made it clear that whomever had decided to drop by hadn't used the front door, like a typical guest would have.

Together, Diana, Clark and Jason rushed towards the living room to greet the intruders with their fists at the ready. It would be a tumultuous moving day if she add a battle in her living room to her to do list, but as she rounded the corner, she recognized the latex costume of a certain Gothamite she had met before.

"Huntress?" It wasn't as though they had planned to meet again anytime soon, but for her to be standing in her newly purchased apartment was rather startling.

Especially when she brought company with her that she had yet to introduce.

"Dick!?" Jason exclaimed with a tone of astonishment, leading Diana to believe that he wasn't cursing at the young man standing by her window. The only thing she was certain of, was that she had the most batty housewarming party on her hands, pun intended.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 _What!? They are gonna be roomies!? I think this is such a cute idea, and it was thanks to my conversation with saultnpeppah last night that made that happen, so thank you for your wise words and patience! I know LOTSLover and I adore the show Fixer Upper, so I wanted to try and paint a vivid picture of what Diana had gotten herself into by purchasing this place in Gotham's East End. I hope it was okay!_

 _Also, I made Jason respond to Diana's offer to stay in a way that was similar to this one moment from the original Titans run, where Donna asked him his opinion as Robin and he was shocked because no one ever asked him that before. I wanted to draw upon that version of him for that scene, because I think that little boy is still inside of Red Hood, you know? I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as he enjoyed being invited to stay, and you'll stick around for the next chapter!_ ~ Maiden


	9. Team Meeting and Gathering

_**In the Middle of a Broken Constellation**_

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** T / 14A

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader's Choice

* * *

This wasn't at all how Diana anticipated the rest of her morning to be, but it was quite a sight to behold, if she were truly honest with herself. "You do quick work," she assessed Huntress with both admiration and reservation. "The moving trucks aren't even here yet." The long, empty living room that the five of them stood in allowed for her voice to echo, emphasizing her tone of voice more clearly than she had herself.

Across the floor stood the woman she had encountered and battled on a Gotham rooftop last night and beside her was a man in a tight black suit, a black mask over eyes with upturned edges resembling a familiar symbol in this city. So comfortable was he, in fact, that he took it upon himself to perform his own introduction. "Wonder Woman, is it? It's really an honour to meet you. My name is Dick Grayson, but I go by Nightwing when I'm… dressed like this." The sheepish smile he offered her at the end made him appear much more boyish than his presence ever implied.

But to make sure that she had a perfect depiction of Nightwing, Jason leaned over and pretended to whisper. "He was once a Robin, too. The one before me, actually. Now he's his own superhero."

Instantly, Dick's face scrunched up so fiercely it moved his mask. He stepped into the living room as he chastised his successor. "But not a very good one, apparently, if I didn't know you were back in town. Why didn't you come to me as soon as you knew something was wrong with Bruce?"

Taking immediate offense, Jason stepped into the metaphorical ring as he approached Nightwing. "I've been a little busy. And you're literally around the corner - why did _I_ have to tell _you_?." That last remark was clearly meant to scathe, and Diana wasn't the only one who noticed.

Before anyone else could take a step forward or utter another thinly veiled insult, Clark stormed his way into the middle of the room and barked at them all. "Well, we all know now. Can we commit to working together on this? Bruce is going to need all of us and we aren't doing ourselves any favours by arguing over what's over and done with."

"He's right," Huntress groaned as she fell against the wall, arms crossed, hip popped. "We've lost enough time in the past month when none of us knew what was going on. What are we going to do, moving forward?"

"Well," having sat with the worry and the knowledge of Bruce's situation long enough, Diana decided to gather the attention of her guests and set them on the proper path for a productive conversation. "I've taken a position at Wayne Tower to try and stay as close to Bruce as possible, without being too suspicious. I'll monitor him as best as I can at work."

Proving himself to be the more empathetic of Batman's extended family, Dick removed his mask as she spoke and showed her just as how stirred his emotions with his uncovered eyes. "Doesn't that mean you'd have to sacrifice your everyday life in order to do that?"

Unwilling to fret over it, all she could say in response was, "Bruce would have done the same for any of us."

Her words made some pause, all while motivating Clark to carry on with strategizing their next step. "After speaking to Vicki Vale, I think it's important to have someone in Diana's position. But we also need to think of the bigger picture: Gotham."

Immediately, Huntress shot her hand up. "Hi, you're looking at Gotham's new defence force. I've been trying to recruit other 'heroes' in the city but everyone's got their own problems to deal with. It'd be nice to have a helping hand or two."

"I'll work on getting that for you," Clark stated with such confidence that the shape of her headpiece only emphasized the way Huntress' jaw dropped open slightly. "As it stands, Vicki has been covering the recent rise in crime for the Gotham Gazette all on her own, chasing down leads as a civilian and I think she needs someone to follow her."

"Why?" Was Jason's deadpan response, sounding uninterested in her safety at the moment.

"Because she's been monitoring the situation with the people transformed by the sludge in the hospital and it's been drawing some attention. She's received threatening messages at work, and even had a letter delivered to her house implying that some of the sludge would be sent her way next. She thinks that's why someone was trying to take out the security in the quarantine wing, that someone is trying to get her infected so she'll keep her nose out of it."

The audacity that someone would go so far as to infect this woman was nauseating to Diana. Considering there was still no way to break down the compound - that they weren't any closer to finding a cure than they were weeks ago - was downright diabolical. If someone was making sure to scare a reporter who was simply doing their job, then that meant the sludge wasn't truly contained in the quarantine wing.

And…

"The person is still out there, then. The one who started all this." Jason surmised, sounding much more reserved than he was moments ago.

As if linked to his estranged brother, Dick tacked on. "And they are still active."

"Meaning they are probably keeping a watchful eye over the entire situation." Huntress mumbled from the back of the room, unamused.

"Wait," Diana gasped suddenly as a realization dawned on her. Everyone's eyes landed on her, panicked by her tone, and it was a proper reaction given what she needed to share with them. "One of these creatures appeared on the east coast last night and Aquaman and the Flash went to fight it together."

The look of terror that flashed over Clark's face caused her heart to miss a beat, even though she was already infused with anxious energy. "Where are they now?"

She had no answer to give him, only creating more tension in the room with her silence. Unable to even imagine what that could have happened to her friends, Diana threw her hand up to her earpiece and phoned into the JLA Headquarters. "Cyborg? Wonder Woman here. Have you heard back from Aquaman or the Flash?"

It took one second too long for Victor to respond to her SOS. " _Cyborg here. No, they haven't contacted me since last night. Why? Do you need help with something?_ "

The look of absolute dread on her face must have tipped off Clark, as he joined their conversation instantly. "Superman here. We think that whoever is responsible for these sludge creatures is still in control of them, and using them to manipulate us. They've gone after a reporter in the city and-"

" _I'm on it. I'll let you know once I find them._ " Victor felt the same way they did, and he hadn't even been apart of their impromptu meeting. Each Justice League member felt strained by the different angles this situation was pulling them in, and knowing they had two of their own Metahumans to worry about on top of Bruce's brain trauma was enough to make the remaining three members quake ever so slightly in metaphysical boots.

"All right," Clark murmured with a tinge of embarrassment. "I guess we don't have the reinforcements I thought we had."

Ever the optimist it seemed, Dick immediately threw up his hands in the hopes of lifting the spirits of Superman. "It's okay. We should be able to corral some support from inside the city too. We can't fall to pieces just because Batman isn't around."

Huntress, despite feeling like the lone ranger in the city as of late, nodded in agreement with her friend. "We have to pick up the slack, or there's no point in ever thinking that Gotham stands a chance. I'm still on the lookout for someone to join the cause, but I've stopped holding my breath. Besides, Batman always hated how aggressive I was, but now he'll owe me a big, fat apology whenever he gets fixed up, won't he?"

"That's one way to put it." Nightwing laughed under his breath at her side.

The dynamic that the were all forming in such a difficult situation was genuinely heartwarming to Diana, as she knew that she was one to draw her strength from the promise of a positive outcome during any battle she faced. Though unexpected and a touch out of place, it seemed that everyone in their current predicament was willing to rise to any challenge in Bruce's name, and she made a mental note to tell him about the love that was being gathered for him once he was well again.

Because he _would_ be well again.

She just knew it.

Jason even threw his hat into the ring, rather prideful with the way he went about it. "I'm in, whether I need to work with others or on my own. We need to sweep the city of regular crimes, keep an eye on Bruce, Vicki _and_ Alfred, and we need to research this sludge stuff that showed up around the time this all started."

The bullet point list of all of the tasks they needed to complete helped organize their conversation neatly. Clark put a hand over his chest and gleefully claimed his role. "I think I can help Vicki do her research and keep an eye on her at the same time. I want to observe the people in quarantine and see if there's anything I can gather from it too. Once I find anything, I'll report back."

"And since Wonder Woman will be with Bruce," Dick, rather obvious about his disappointment, stepped forward once again to take on his task. "I will try to help clear out the crime in the city with Huntress. I'll also get in touch with Oracle and see if she can help us out."

"That'd be nice." Jason tried to egg Nightwing on, but the conversation was much too busy for the likes of his humour.

"Thank you, Dick. And to you too, Huntress. What you're doing is so important to keeping the peace, I hope you know how much we appreciate it." Diana made sure to share her gratitude with the self-made defence force that was being formed in the name of Gotham, for the sake of Bruce's legacy. That type of dedication to one's home was something she grew up with, and it felt almost nostalgic to see it in action now.

Whereas Dick merely smiled with silent awe at her words, Huntress laughed off the praise. His kind blue eyes were even contrasted by her masked face, and they appeared to be quite different in so many ways but similar in others. There bond was also reminiscent of the sisters she hadn't seen in far too long - charged and prepared to wage wars, weathered souls that were kindred by their experiences rather than blood - that she was actually inspired by them in that very moment.

"In fact, I think I might be able gather an ally or two to help you protect the city." Speaking slowly, she gave herself one last chance to back out of such a crazy idea. But Diana knew that now was not the time to second guess herself. Turning to Jason, she smirked as she realized how fate had worked in her favour. "Room mate, I need you to bring in all of my furniture when it arrives. Clark and I have somewhere to be."

"What!? You're taking away the man who can lift a couch with his pinkie finger!?" Jason whined at her delegations without any shame whatsoever.

Ignoring him completely, Clark tilted his head as he questioned her. "Where are we going?"

"To ask for help." Diana promised as she waved to her guests and motioned for Clark to join her at the door. They'd need to leave the building as regular people before jetting off into the sky, just in case they were spotted by her new neighbours. After all, even though three different Batman-related people had met her in her civilian clothes since she had started this venture, she had no intention of becoming so friendly with anyone else in Gotham City anytime soon.

* * *

When they arrived at the Temple of the Amazons, they had just missed the crowds of tourists that visited the spot daily. After the appeal of Wonder Woman had grown around the world, people from all walks of life had been visiting the temple in the hopes of learning more about the hero's ancestry, Diana presumed. She had visited it herself a handful of times over the years whenever she happened to be in Greece and it always made her homesick just as it empowered her to work harder in her mission to protect 'Man's World'.

In the dark of the night, they landed gracefully at the back of the structure in the hopes of avoiding the security guards who were monitoring the front entrance. As softly as he could speak, taking into account both of their inhuman hearing capabilities, Clark asked her, "What do you need me to do?"

Standing upright once she confirmed that the coast was clear, Diana bowed as a sign of respect to the temple, its history, and its patron guardians before wandering into the ancient building. There were merely pillars acting as the walls, meaning that they had to be careful about being seen. Still, her plan required them to reach the front doorway if she was to succeed. "I need you to start a fire."

There was a pause, then a very unrefined utterance of the phrase, "I'm sorry, _what_?" She heard the hastened footsteps coming up behind her, which only encouraged her to move faster herself.

"The Amazons will know that I am asking for them to send me a warrior if we light a fire at the entrance to their temple. If they choose to allow me their help, their champion will arrive in three day's time to help us take care of Gotham City." She explained with as much confidence as she could portray to him, given that there was a part of her that worried she'd be ignored by her sisters.

As they reached the middle of the temple, Clark swooped into her path and blocked her from proceeding. The grave look in his eyes proved that he understood how bold her actions were. "Diana, are you sure you want to do this?"

Instead of ramping up her own indecisive thoughts, his question only made her feel empowered to take such an emboldened step. "Yes."

Though he examined her for a moment too long, searching for some kind of doubt anywhere in her expression or body language, Clark silently accepted her choice and turned to face the entrance. From behind his towering form, she watched as a red energy formed around his head, just before releasing his laser vision at the floor before the doorway. Then, before she could blink, he scooped her up and flew them out of the temple to avoid ever being seen.

Sailing through the air, Diana smiled at her friend with great respect. "Thank you."

"I won't be cursed or anything for doing that, right?" He joked, his smile wide, but there was definitely something hidden in the corners of his lips that implied he might be nervous about the possibility of vengeful mythological enemies.

Playing true to her honest personality, all Diana did was laugh because she couldn't promise him anything. After all, even with the stunt they had just pulled, she couldn't even guarantee that they'd be given a champion Amazon to help them in Gotham. Everything that they were enduring was incredibly formidable, and yet, all of their solutions required time.

Until her phone rang as she was flying over European skies, that is.

"Wait!" She screeched a little too loudly while fumbling with the buttoned up pocket on her dress. Clark stalled in the air and hovered obediently as she revealed her phone's screen to the both of them.

Wayne Enterprises was calling.

She didn't waste any time and tapped her thumb down on the green button that allowed her to answer the call. In fact, she began to throw out her greeting before the phone was even properly next to her mouth. "Hello?"

" _Well Miss Prince, I have to say that your resume speaks for itself._ " The air pressure was strong where she was, but hearing Bruce's voice on the other end of the line is what made her gasp for a single breath.

"Mr. Wayne?" She asked in order to clarify that she wasn't simply hearing what she wished to hear. She turned to Clark and he mirrored her expression of surprise, clearly invested in hearing what the phone call was about.

Unaware of their shock, Bruce spoke to her as though no one else could hear them. " _We just got your documents from your previous employer and I have to say, you're quite impressive on paper._ "

"I would hope that my interview was impressive, as well." Diana stated her opinion rather than ask it, as if to demand some credit for the improvised persona she had created in order to win her the job.

" _Of course you were_." His voice became deeper when he answered her, and the chill she felt was much too close to her bones to be caused by the wind that surrounded her. Somehow, even when he wasn't the Bruce she knew, that civilian Bruce - the one she had met once face to face, where they were merely two people in each other's presence - always managed to make her feel like he was ready to tower over her, to demonstrate what his inclinations would be like when matched up against hers.

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne." She hoped she didn't sound too breathless, but just enough that it would make him think she was honoured by his praise.

" _Are you outside? It sounds like you're in a windstorm._ " The tension was severed by his curiosity and it made her feel as if she was released from something ethereal.

Confidence restored, Diana looked to Clark to watch his reaction to her lie. "I'm exploring Gotham right now. I am looking at a few places today, so I can have a home somewhere in the city."

" _Well, that works out since I'm calling to let you know you got the job_."

"I did?" She smiled in Clark's face so brightly, he curled his own lips in so he didn't laugh at her excitement.

" _You did, and you start tomorrow morning. Lucius is throwing you right into the frey_."

"That's perfect." She replied to his challenge with a response that proved she was ready. Diana had had enough of planning and organizing and straightening out her feelings - she wanted to get into the ring, battle with Bruce's enemies and take on his challenges. She needed to get her hands dirty now and being hired by Lucius Fox was the first accomplishment she'd had in a while.

Whether Themyscira sent her a champion, Diana felt like she had revived the spirit of a champion inside of herself. Now, she could be by Bruce's side and make sure that nothing else happened to him.

Finally, things were starting to look up and not just because she was in the literal clouds.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

I am a day late, but I am here with a bonus page! I want to say thank you to The GD Patman for helping me conceptualize the 'beacon' I needed in this chapter, and I want to send a special shoutout to LOTSLover, who I wrote that last little phone call for. The WonderBat people I know are just so amazing!

If you think of this like a series, the first arc/saga is now over. Diana will begin her job at Wayne Foundation, everyone has their roles of what they need to do, and we have a few mysteries on our hands! I hope you enjoyed the first segment and continue to read more! ~ Maiden


	10. First Day at Work

_**In the Middle of a Broken Constellation**_

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** T / 14A

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader's Choice

* * *

Whenever Diana was behind the wheel of her car, she somehow felt just as powerful as when she wore her Amazonian girdle. There was something exciting to her about handling her Mercedes that nothing else in her centuries of life could compare to, not even her training mare on Themyscira. She had witnessed the rapid progression of the Industrial Age firsthand and that explosion of technological growth had led her to owning a 2018 Mercedes, cruising through the streets of Gotham City in the early morning, imagining what it would be like to race Clark or Barry with her sleek, modern, manufactured horsepower.

Despite her own godlike strength, Diana knew just how much she enjoyed being imbued with confidence by the lavish things she owned in life. She had worked for decades to afford her car and the wardrobe she owned, after all. Even though her closet hadn't arrived with the rest of her furniture yesterday, she had stepped into Gotham's Fashion District late last night and bought for herself a lovely Louis Vuitton ruffle and snap dress in black so that she could get away with wearing her favourite black heels again. It was a secret passion of hers - budgeting her money to spoil herself silly - but she definitely put her all into selecting her fashion the same way she would prepare for any battle.

The proper armour was vital when taking on the any challenge, after all.

That was the mindset she intended to carry into her first day of work at Wayne Tower as she drove into the underground parking lot. There were mostly cars with black and silver bodies filling every floor, but as luck would have it, she managed to find herself situated between a orange Toyota Corolla and a black Mustang with vertical red stripes on the seventh level. Her cherry red machine sat perfectly between them, she noted to herself as she parked, exited and locked her vehicle with a push of a button. The amount of cars already stationed in the lot made her feel as though she was late for her first day, encouraging her to walk as fast as she could without breaking into a sprint while making her way to the elevator.

Though she could have already assumed as much, it was important for her to take note that Wayne Enterprises was never empty and therefore, was likely never officially closed.

Her first day was set to begin at seven a.m., yet she was inside the parking lot's elevator at six-thirty. It was a swift ride - impatient as the man who owned the building - and she was dropped off at the lobby in three blinks. As soon as the door opened, she was met with the same hustle and bustle she witnessed the day before, except she was expected to blend in with it now.

Diana was careful to follow the unintentional train that was headed towards the above ground elevators she rode in yesterday. There were people on their phones all around her, huddles of employees having what appeared to be incredibly serious conversations, and all she managed to do was keep pace with the heard that was trying to squeeze their way into a single elevator car. The only thing she could do was smile politely to the young girl that was pressed against her as they became incredibly acquainted while she made her way to the thirty fourth floor once again.

It felt never ending, which is why she was all too eager to jump out into the hallway once the elevator reached her stop. She straightened her dress and scurried to the board room she had been in yesterday morning, a bubble of hope rising in her heart that she'd see Bruce again, despite how unlikely that would be.

No, he wasn't present this time, but it looked as if her entire new team was.

Diana skidded to a halt in the doorway of Board Room C and was genuinely shocked that nearly every seat around the table was taken. The smaller space somehow matched the energy of the busy lobby downstairs and she felt as if she had intruded on a moment of great debate. It was only when she dared to take one step beyond the door frame that she managed to catch Lucius' attention from the head of the table across the room.

"Ah, Diana!" Now that she was hired, it seemed that she was being promoted to a first name basis. As he rose from his seat to come meet her with an outstretched hand, the twenty or so people that had been talking over one another grew silent and all turned to appraise her at once. She greeted them with the same smile she gave the woman on the elevator before reaching out to take Lucius' hand. Careful to show respect, she answered him safely with, "Good morning, Mr. Fox."

She was so happy that she made the call to use his last name, as he did not correct her and ask that she call him Lucius. Instead, he faced the board room and chose to introduce her to the staff himself. "This is our new Community Outreach Specialist, Miss Diana Prince."

An older gentleman decided to ask a question instead of offering her a quick hello. He raised his hand but spoke before being called on. "Didn't you fire our old one when he came in an hour ago?" Apparently the speed with which the position was filled was shocking.

Lucius chuckled and abandoned her side, returning to the head of the table at the other end of the room. "Yes, I did, and now we have someone else to fill the position. I know you're a veteran employee but that's how the hiring process works, Don." The obvious tease garnered a few soft giggles from around the table, all while her new boss waved her over to his side. Diana sauntered over to her designated spot across the room, aware of how everyone's eyes followed her, finding it to be rather invigorating rather than intimidating.

However, the wind was stolen from her chest when a massive stack of papers was instantly tossed towards her and she was forced to catch them so suddenly. Apparently, whatever the team was discussing meant that they were in a rush as Lucius was quick with his words. "Once you fill out the contract, I'm going to be sending you out to Gotham General for your first day, so do you have anything you want to say to the group before we resume?"

"Sure," was her automatic response as she tried to digest how quickly her day was already moving. When Bruce warned her that she'd be thrown into the frey immediately, he wasn't kidding. Despite the slight whiplash, she found herself rather excited to begin. The awaiting gazes that she faced showcased the entire team's anticipation, and if she were honest with herself, she was filled with just as much suspense as they were to see how this new career of hers would pan out.

Unable to wait another second, she grinned and said, "Hello everyone. As Mr. Fox said, my name is Diana Prince and I am very excited to be working with you all. I'm sure I'll get the hang of this new role eventually, so if you bare with me, I promise to do my best as your new Community Outreach Specialist."

The room politely clapped for her, and she appreciated it greatly.

Once the moment had passed though, the team returned to the same noise level she had encountered when she walked into the room. The only one who didn't partake right away was Lucius, who stopped to offer her a few more instructions. "Once you fill that out, you'll head to the second floor and get your ID badge printed. You can ask the front desk for directions to Gotham General after that. Got it?" It wasn't a derogatory mark in the slightest - Mr. Lucius Fox was issuing her a challenge as he arched a curious brow her way.

Sequestered in the corner, she didn't feel at all intimidated or anxious by the tasks laid out for her. It wasn't at all unlike Wonder Woman to face her ventures with the utmost vitality, and Diana felt that there wasn't much difference between her superhero persona and who she was without the girdle. Ready and restless, Diana replied, "Got it."

* * *

Gotham General was only the fifth or so hospital she had been to in her life, considering that her wounds healed on their own. She had only ever visited friends who were ill or in labour, and she stayed in specific cities for as long as she could before moving on, so her experience with doctors and nurses was quite limited. Still, it carried the same air as any other one she had been to: uncontrollably busy while feigning a sense of calm. The lighting was the same, the smell that wafted throughout despite the wings she walked between, and the way her heart ached when she saw people laying on gurneys in the hallways without loved ones to sit with them. They were factories of mixed emotions in her eyes, and she could somewhat understand why this role would be a definite challenge.

After flashing her Wayne Foundation badge to the nurses, Diana's access had allowed her the instructions to reach the rooms used for isolation, as that was where the quarantine of the sludge-infested people were being kept. Despite the time that had passed between the initial infestation and the disappearance of the sludge in the waterways of the city, there had been absolutely no production of a solidified cure and the constant consumption of the isolation rooms was creating trouble for the hospital.

It was her job to meet with the head of the department and assess the situation.

Approaching the nurses' station in the Isolation Ward, Diana was greeted by a rather serious looking senior woman as soon as she came within five feet of the desk. "Hello," she spoke as soon as she was spotted, hoping to get the information she needed quickly so as not to bother her any further. "My name is Diana Prince and I am here representing the Wayne Foundation. I was hoping I could speak with Dr. Thompson?"

"She doesn't work here anymore." Was the blunt and disinterested reply of the older woman, sounding irritated that Diana dared to ask such an obvious question. It seemed she wasn't the only one who switched up her position recently.

Unwilling to accept such an answer, Diana was firm but gentle as she pushed for more information. "Then who should I speak to? I'm here to see if we can help you with the quarantine issues you've been having."

"Let me see what I can do." Groaned the nurse before slowly reaching for the phone, her teeth grinding to further illustrate her irritation.

All Diana could do was sigh softly to herself before she turned around to look at the waiting room and find herself a seat.

Only to spot the only other person she knew who was traipsing around Gotham City with the same bravado as she was. "Clark?"

The glasses he wore to mask his identity nearly leapt off of his face when he looked up to see her. "Diana!" He exclaimed with a range of emotions as he dropped his pen and notepad onto the vacant chair beside him and raced over to her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here representing the Wayne Foundation." She replied with a little too much glee, showing off her ID badge as if it was a badge of honour, as if she could prove to him how successful her infiltration mission had turned out so far.

He smiled at her, clearly impressed by her immediate rise to such a high status, and he prepared to open his mouth to tell her how proud he was of her. Or so she assumed, before a woman who looked to be a foot or so shorter than him squeezed in between the two of them without much subtlety and introduced herself. "Hi. Lois Lane, reporter for the Daily Planet."

Despite the young woman making sure that she had interrupted their conversation, it somehow became Diana's responsibility to offer her a handshake instead. Clark used his open mouth to play the part of the middle man between them. "Lois, this is Diana Prince, Diana, Lois."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Diana said kindly while putting all of her focus on the death grip that was exchanged between her and the fiery female before her. Despite her stature making her seem leagues smaller than the two of them, the rambunctious, determined energy that rolled off of Lois in waves was so impressive, she genuinely couldn't look away from her even if she wanted to.

What Diana had mistaken for possible jealousy transformed into calculated willpower as she pulled out her phone and held it out between them. Clearly enunciating her words, Lois began to speak loud enough for her phone's recording app to catch every word. "Miss Prince, you work for the Wayne Foundation. Is there anything you can tell us about what's happening here with the victims of the sludge attacks? Is your company planning to invest more into a possible cure? Or provide Gotham General with a way to handle the upkeep of housing them?"

From the look in her eyes, there was clearly an invested fire ignited inside of her. Diana couldn't tell if she knew someone in Metropolis who was affected by the sludge as well, or if she was simply that empathetic as a reporter, but it was obvious that she couldn't avoid making some kind of statement and that put her in a dangerous situation given her short time in her new position.

Calmly so as to be mindful of words, Diana explained, "Given that I am quite new to my position, I cannot give you a proper answer at this point in time. I am here to assess the situation with the chief physician, and once we know more, I am sure Wayne Enterprises will be more than happy to provide you with a proper quote."

Clark looked as if he had been hit with a cool breeze after sweating incessantly. On the other hand, Lois looked rather exasperated. "Sorry," she showed that she was aware of her demanding behaviour as she removed the phone from her face and returned it to her pocket. "We've been sitting here waiting for answers ourselves. Since Gotham was hit first by all of this, we were hoping they might have some answers."  
As Lois crossed her arms, Clark took the opportunity to add on, "We were in contact with a Gotham Gazette reporter but we haven't heard from her since yesterday afternoon. We were hoping to run into her here today." The pointed gaze he gave Diana showcased the nervousness he felt for whom she could only assume to be Vicki Vale.

"Why here?" Diana asked, wondering why the pair of them hadn't just headed straight to the Gotham Gazette office if they wished to speak to her.

Lois refused to answer her at first, not until she made sure the coast was clear. Given that they were still standing next to the information desk and the older nurse had turned away from them so she could make her phone call, it was clear that no one was listening. Once she felt secure with their surroundings, she leaned in and informed Diana of their ulterior motive, "Because we might run into Commissioner Gordon here too. His daughter is supposedly one of the people who were infected."

Gordon… The name sounded familiar to Diana and it took it her a moment too long to realize way, her face remaining blank as she tried to remember why.

Then, she remembered exactly who his daughter was, and what her alias was: Oracle.

The shock was written all over her face the moment it dawned on her. It suddenly made sense why no one had heard from her. It also explained why there was no headway made on a cure: the computer analysis they had relied on Oracle for was left incomplete if she was transformed into a sludge monster like everyone else who came in contact with it-

Diana gasped, her eyes going wide as a terrifying thought struck her like a bolt of the fiercest lightning.

"Hopefully, he will clarify if the rumour is true or not." Clark offered some reassuring words, implying that this particular lead might be false.

However, it didn't reach Diana. "Hopefully. If you'll excuse me? I need make a call to my team." Without waiting to see if Lois believed her, she turned and left the ward as fast as her feet could carry her. She ripped her phone out of her pocket and pretended to use it before placing it next to her ear, using her thumb to activate her ear piece. "Victor? Is the sludge contained at headquarters?"

" _Cyborg here. I was just about to take it out again and-_ "

Knowing Clark could hear her with his developed sense of hearing from inside the hospital, she demanded both of their attention as she expressed her fears to them. "Don't. This thing is taking over whoever touches it. Clark thinks that Oracle has been consumed by it. We need a new approach to it because we can't make contact. I think that's why we haven't heard back from Arthur and Barry either. I think they're… gone."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 _This is getting dramatic really fast! So now we have lost Barbara, Arthur and Barry too!? How can you find a cure for something you can't study and experiment on? What is the remaining JL going to do? I hope you stick around to see what happens next! ~_ Maiden


	11. The Puzzle of a Thousand Pieces

**In the Middle of a Broken Constellation**

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** T / 14A

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader's Choice

* * *

Victor's sigh sounded like a sudden rush of static during their call, crackling in Diana's ear unforgivingly. " _Although we don't have proof one way or the other since they haven't responded to my calls_ ," he began, starting from a logical point before facing her claim with his heartfelt concern. " _We also can't rule out that what you're suggesting is possible._ "

Unwilling to appear as though she was merely an unhinged theorist, Diana delved into her thought process. But first, she snuck into a supply closet that was marked 'Nurses Only', imagining that she would have the greatest chance of privacy in there. "The rumour that Oracle has become one of these creatures makes sense, given that we have yet to see any headway on a potential cure. I'll re-confirm with Nightwing tonight that she is in fact missing, but it lines up with what could have happened with Arthur and Barry as well."

" _I put out the call as soon as possible last night, but I haven't heard back. We've all lost contact during missions before, so that isn't necessarily a red flag_." The way Victor tried to play the devil's advocate to her suspicions was fair and genuine, and yet, it sounded as though he had left his remark open to a rebuttal, like he wanted her to challenge his caution.

Sadly, Diana knew that she could. "But everyone that we know of who has come in contact with this sludge has disappeared right after. Whoever is operating it is either incredibly fortunate to have taken the people they have, or they know who exactly they are targeting."

Then, to her surprise, the one applying pressure to her ideas in the hopes of seeing them crumble suddenly reinforced her fear with a claim of his own. " _And everything is connected back to Bruce_."

The shock made Diana grab onto one of the metal bars of the many different shelving units in the closet. "What?"

As Victor now divulged his own hypothesis to her, the awareness that he was potentially revealing their villain's entire strategy washed over her with a grim sensation pooling in her gut. " _The sludge infested three cities. The first was Gotham, but the other two are hometowns to other members of the Justice League - a group Bruce helped form. Assuming he went missing shortly after our last discussion with him, and that Barbara was taken around that time as well, you'd think that the sludge would have continued its infestation unhinged but instead_ -"

"It stopped."

" _Right. And thanks to your efforts, we found out that aside from his brain trauma and his oddly specific amnesia, he's no longer playing the role of Dark Knight but he seems to be right as rain_."

"Because he's only Bruce now. He doesn't have to choose between two worlds anymore." Speaking those words saddened her greatly, to think that Bruce was no longer apart of the world he helped bring her into, that he had unknowingly abandoned the life of a hero and left a massive blank space in the League. With a name that revolved around 'justice', only Bruce could challenge her on upholding the value of that word so fiercely before.

Being a pillar to their team without him felt somewhat hollow now, which was something she could only admit to herself.

Carrying on, unaware of her inner turmoil, Victor asked the most obvious question, " _Do we think they're connected now?_ "

Diana nodded at a room full of blankets and toilet paper. "Only in finding the perpetrator can we figure out what this plan accomplishes. If they removed Batman, why haven't they done anything since?"

Victor chimed in to remind her of a rather blatant clue, " _Except for unleashing the sludge monster that Arthur and Barry went to fight_."

Now she felt completely thrown. Out of all of the things that this evil doer could have done, why did they put their nefarious scheme on hold for a month, then summon a monster off the shore of Maine? Was the goal to simple force Aquaman into a fight? Would they all be challenged and confronted with sludge monsters to battle, unable to take them down without being taken themselves?  
Scrubbing her face with her free hand, Diana stood tall and let her confusion transform into a type of anger that would move her into action. "All we can do is keep trying to contact them, but I don't think we should count on them for anything until we know they are safe."

" _Agreed_." Was Victor's firm reply.

Diana wasn't sure what to say next, given that there wasn't anything to really take away from their talk. After all, all they had done was recognize the possible route of their villain's thought process, but they had no way of predicting when or where they would strike next. They only common factor was Bruce, and all Diana truly knew was that she made the right choice in coming to Gotham.

The nurse who found her hiding in the closet did not appear to agree, though. "Um, excuse me?" The question was fair, as was the shock in the young woman's voice.

Instinct compelled Diana to hold up a finger to the nurse as she continued to pretend that the call she was on was taking place on the phone she was holding to her ear. "I have to go now, but I'll be in touch after my meeting with the chief physician."

" _Copy that_." Victor acknowledged her sudden shift in tone with a brief goodbye before signing off of their communication link. His sudden departure forced his friend to slip out of the closet rather quickly, for fear of losing her facade of a busy business woman and needing to further justify her hiding spot. As fast as her heels carried her did Diana race back to the Isolation Ward in the hopes that the older nurse had found her someone to speak to.

Bounding around the corner, she felt held breath vacate her the moment she say a man in a white lab coat speaking to Clark and Lois. As her fellow metahuman met her gaze the moment she appeared in the ward, he gave her a slight nod, which she took to mean that he had indeed heard her phone call with Cyborg. But just as quickly as she saw his gesture, it was replaced with a shocked expression and a call out of her name. "Diana!" He even raised his pen in the air as if he had to get her attention.

At once, Lois and the doctor turned around to witness her return. While Lois looked just as determined as she had left her, the doctor looked as though he could match her. Tall, a wide build and a rather serious expression that looked as if it was chiseled into his features, the man looked like a bouncer at a club that refused to let Lois and Clark in. Seeing the displeasure on his face, Diana knew she needed to once again whip out her ID badge if she wanted to get anywhere. "Hello. I'm Diana Prince from the Wayne Foundation."  
"Ah yes, _you're_ the one I was called to speak to," Contradicting his persona, the seemingly confident man faced her with an outstretched hand and looked as though he wanted to avoid her gaze, despite the fact that he was wearing some sort of protective eye gear that was apparently going to remain on his face while they spoke. "Dr. Hunt."

"Thank you for meeting with me so suddenly. I apologize, I thought Dr. Thompson was still here." she divulged her original intention in the hopes of communicating to him that she didn't mean to pull him away from his work.

Her mention of Dr. Thompson seemed to wind him up ever so slightly. "She decided to leave us for her old clinic in the city, last I heard. But I'm here now, and I'm interested to know what Mr. Wayne is intending to do by sending you down here."

'Help' was the single answer that sprang into her mind, but Diana tried not to be show the doctor any sass, given how serious he appeared to be. "This is a passion project of mine personally, and it's something that Mr. Wayne believes in. As the new Community Outreach Specialist, I want to know what it is that the Isolation Ward needs and what I can do to help."

An awkward, intentional, unnecessary pause was difficult to digest as Dr. Hunt examined her in front of Clark and Lois. She couldn't determine if his hesitation came from the fact that he was so found of Bruce but was left to deal with a woman of lower rank in the company, or if he was naturally this off-putting to anyone who visited him at work, but Diana figured she had wasted enough time in Gotham General already. When she had decided that the silence had gone on long enough, she broke it by gesturing to the hallway that was behind Lois. Then, she beckoned to him with a simple, "Shall we?"

As she turned to begin their walk down into the heart of the Isolation Ward, Diana couldn't help but notice the smirk of approval she received from the fiery Lois Lane. Just as she was passing her by though, she heard Dr. Hunt grumble, "No reporters." Then, he stomped over to her side with an air of disdain. Having endured worse than an unhappy aura, she decided it was best to dive into her purpose for being there the instant they were walking in synchronization.

"How many patients would you say you have in this ward that are victims of the sludge infestation?"

"Fifty, or so." Was the surprisingly lackluster answer from the chief physician.

"There isn't an exact number?" Diana felt she had the right to ask.

Dr. Hunt clasped his hands behind his back and walked with a straightened spine, opposed to the dissatisfaction of her question with his ornate dignity. "After corraling them all into the ward, we haven't been able to properly do a head count. They're all pink creatures that constantly look as if they are melting and they don't care for each other's personal space, so they're almost always on top of one another. They're literal monsters."

The tone of his voice implied that all of his words could have been summarized by a meager 'duh'. The deeper they went into the ward, the greater her distaste of him grew. "Have anymore been brought in since the original wave?"

Again, his response was easily summarized by a single notion, and this time it was a shrug. "I believe there was one or two in the week or so after the original group of them arrived here, but since not all of them were brought in with their original identity known, I can't say how many John and Jane Doe's are in there."

At least he was providing her with some useful information now. "So you are aware of some of the citizens that are locked in here?"

"If they were transformed at home through their own plumbing, than yes, their loved ones could tell us who was infected. But looking into the room, you cannot tell one monster apart from another." To prove his point, Dr. Hunt stopped near the end of the hallway and took his chance to guide her towards one of the last doors on the left hand side. Feigning gratitude, Diana opened the door and was met with an almost closet-like space on the other side. She looked back at him curiously before she heard a ruckus through another door that was inside the closet-sized room.

Stepping inside nervously, she just happened to peek through the slit of a window inside the other door's body and felt her eyes grow wide as she realized where she was.

"That's...them?" She asked without a real need for clarification as she stared into what could only be described as the holding cell for all fifty of the sludge creatures being held within Gotham General.

She noticed that the sound of the door closing behind them was gentle, almost as if they had snuck into the sterilization room between the hall and the monsters' hiding place. Gazing at them for herself, she could understand now why it was so hard to keep tracking of them all, as there was barely enough room for them all to fit within the space. Mindlessly wandering around the room, they all looked so helpless, as if they truly reflected the way that the people encased within the sludge were feeling. The room was even tinted with a flesh-like tone, given how much of their secreting mess had covered the floors and walls.

Perhaps too desensitized to their plight, Dr. Hunt looked on with her while donning nothing more than a factual perspective. "They've been here for a month and we aren't any closer to figuring out how to cure them, or if it's even possible to do so."

As childish as it sounded, Diana felt that her blunt question was warranted after witnessing what Dr. Hunt was dealing with. "So what is it you need from us? What can we do to help?"

"Money. We need to funnel money into this specific and vicious illness. We need to pay researchers, we need to create a safe method to examine this sludge and then we need the time to test out cures. We may even need to use some of the infected as test subjects, since we don't have the opportunity to do studies in a lab. This is a highly volatile situation, Miss Prince."

He spoke as if she was protesting his methods without saying a word, and a piece of her was. Experimenting on the helpless people trapped in these sludge bodies had the potential to be cruel if there weren't ethical practices in place to protect them, but was there really any other option?

Diana realized that all she could focus on at that very moment was getting the funding for the research secured, as they had already lost an entire month of work due to the confusion that Bruce's situation had cost them. It was time to move forward at an accelerated pace if they wanted to save these people from-

The door that stood between them and the isolation room suddenly hissed, startling her so much that she clutched at her chest. In shocked disbelief, confused and growing fearful, Diana watched as it began to slowly crane itself open as if someone had given them access to go inside the monsters' space. Like entering the labyrinth and facing fifty minotaurs, only neither Diana nor Dr. Hunt had ever desired to go inside.

Somehow, they had been granted access without any protection or sterilization. While trying to fathom what had caused such a horrific miscalculation in that very moment, Diana felt a sense of dread crawl up her spine when she noticed that the monsters on the other side of the creeping door froze when they heard the air escaping. The sound had alerted them in what appeared to be a primal way and the fear that was instilled in her suddenly could only be described as reactionary as she tried to assess the situation with little to no information gathered on these creatures.

Then, next to her, she heard a whimpering voice cry, "R-R-RUN!"

And in that moment, all hell broke loose.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Ooh, things are about to get insane! The monsters are being let out!? By who!? And how will Diana face them if she can't touch them!?_

 _Come back next Monday to find out! ~_ Maiden


	12. A True Emergency

**In the Middle of a Broken Constellation**

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** T / 14A

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader's Choice

* * *

A small gust whipped past her as Dr. Hunt scurried off shortly after his terrified screech, and Diana was glad to know he'd gone. She wasn't happy, however, about the circumstances that were unfolding right before her very eyes.

In a muddled, incoherent mess, the creatures within the once locked room begin to rise into surprisingly tall stances and make their way towards the vacant doorway. No longer confined, the energy of their once lifeless existences transformed into that of an angry mob without much provocation. Diana felt her heart become consumed by dread as she tried to slowly, carefully, remove herself from the anteroom. Like prey before a predator, she knew it was foolish to hope that her slow movements would avoid galvanizing the horde.

All she could think about was her theory about Arthur and Barry's disappearance - she knew that escaping them was her best chance at surviving the sludge herself.

" _Code Brown! We have a Code Brown in the Isolation Ward! Code Brown, and Code Green!_ " an elderly female voice failed to remain calm as she shouted over the loudspeaker.

Diana had no idea what those codes referred to, but she understood that the most likely course of action that the hospital would take had to be a lockdown, meaning she now had no choice but to run!

With the poise of a ballerina and the strength of a soldier did she throw herself into the main hallway of the Isolation Ward. Just as she had correctly assumed, it infuriated the sludge monsters that she left their line of sight, and the misshapen blob of them trying to all push through the doorway at the same time rather disturbed her. They looked like a melted hydra in her eyes and she knew from experience that it was time to make her exit; the scent of the mythological creature was known to kill and the touch of this one could end up taking her life away from her if she dared to fight it!

Diana grimaced as she flew towards the double doors at the end of the hall that she had walked through mere moments ago. They were meant to stay closed to protect people on either side, but when she slammed her hand against the push bar and found that the door would not budge, she instantly felt isolated. In a moment of disbelief, she shook the bar a few more times simply because she knew that slamming through the doors was not an option for her. Not only would it put the other people in the hospital at risk if she acted so impulsively, but her new civilian identity would also instantly be obliterated if she attempted such an aggressive escape.

And her nerves were definitely urging her to fight her way to safety since she could not flee.

If her theory about Arthur and Barry was correct, she needed to find another way to keep herself safe until…

Until…

Until what?

A heavy, liquified hand slammed into the double doors right next to her body and Diana nearly jumped out of her skin. Instead, she spun around to find herself face to face with the front runners of the sludge monsters' pack. The only clear path she had to avoid being swallowed whole by them was to unfortunately sidestep them and hope that they didn't end up pinning her to the wall. It felt like all she could do was retreat to avoid their onslaught but it wouldn't do her any good to simply play chicken with over fifty monstrosities charging at her. She couldn't understand what it was about them that craved claiming her, because she knew that any contact would force her to join their pack.

Perhaps they only knew how to function like mindless animals that wanted to attack the person that was in their territory, but if she could figure out how to escape them, they wouldn't need to bother themselves with her!

Diana tossed her body weight at the wall so that she could plant her favourite heels against its surface and propel herself over the cluster of creatures that had followed her to the doors. Though faceless, she felt their confusion while she soared overhead. As she eyed the spot she expected to land in, preparing to place her hands down upon the ground to catch her fall, the monsters at the back of the group clued into what she was attempting and dared to swipe at her falling body.

Her core activated as she tried to turn herself in midair to avoid their grabbing hands. It caused such a stark change in her course of action that she ended up slamming into the window of the room that had been next to their previous prison cell. It couldn't shatter due to the low impact of her hit, so she was forced into a standoff with the rear of the group. All she had done was switch which half of the cluster she was dealing with.

They were still desperate to grab ahold of her too, as one of them swiped at her ankle in a cheap attempt to add her to their fold. Diana reacted reflexively first and foremost, which resulted in her trying to kick the sludge away from her. It was then she got to see the substance in action, how the sludge broke off into a multitude of smaller pieces, like rampant leeches, as it tried to claim her leg. Fearing for her life, she was left with no choice but to sacrifice half of her favourite pair of heels in order to avoid an ugly transformation.

She threw all of her might into the kick in the hopes of delivering some pain to the monster that took her shoe. Luckily, it did stumble back, and she counted that as a small victory. Nevertheless, the fact that one of them managed to grab hold of her in some way seemed to inspire the other monsters to try even harder to do the same. They were closing in around her now with a renewed sense of impatience, every line of sight she had was slowly being consumed by what she could only describe as wet, pink mud.

It became apparent that she'd need to start sacrificing what she had on her person if she intended to last. Immediately, she thought of her shoe, until she felt her purse swing back and smack her hip. On its chain-like strap, it was clearly the more appropriate weapon…

Especially when it contained a weapon she adored in her arsenal as Wonder Woman.

She ripped the strap off of her shoulder and swung it at them a few times in the hopes of warding away their eager hands, despite the sad ending that her shoe had when she attempted the same strategy.

As they circled around her defenseless form, the sludge that once made up fifty or some people began to fuse together and create a tidal wave-like disaster, towering over her with the intention of swallowing her entirely into their masses. She could tell that they even struck the ceiling as some bits fell from the top of their formation and crashed down onto the floor. "Athena, I beg you," Diana murmured to herself in a last-ditch attempt to summon any excess strength that she could as she pulled out her last line of defense against the sludge monsters.

Her Lasso of Truth.

In her mighty hands, it glowed with the brilliance of the sun, its light unopposed regardless of the way the swarm of sludge that surrounded her. She swiftly reversed the lasso and, instead of trying to capture something in her grasps, she chose to use the opposite end of the rope and transform it into a whip; her indomitable will to live was channeled into each lashing she fired off at the misshapen horde without any remorse in that moment, because she knew that she had to survive this ordeal for herself, for the people trapped within the gigantic lump of sludge before her, but most of all, in order to save Bruce from whoever went so far as to orchestrate all of this in order to get to him.

The person that was behind these monstrosities was no ordinary person, and they would need to be punished for the horrible crimes against humanity that they had put all of these people through.

With every strike she landed, the sludge hissed as steam escaped the mass. Frantically did the fifty or so pieces that once made of the wave that meant to swallow her suddenly fly apart and latch onto all different corners of the Isolation Ward. They moved around without legs as if they couldn't be bothered to return to a humanoid shape. She was able to spy the ones that were struck by her after they had all split off due to the way some of the mounds of sludge would wobble and shudder as if a ripple ran along the surface of their entire shape. Curiosity-driven, Diana flipped her lasso around and began to spin it over her head, eyeing the closest creature-

Then, a massive _boom_ shook the very ground she stood on. With one heel on and one heel off, Diana felt herself nearly lose balance, but instead used the momentum of her swinging lasso to turn around and assess the cause of the sudden intrusion.

It was none other than Superman himself, having punched through the wall of the room that was directly behind her. As soon as their eyes met, Clark looked just as panicked as she had originally felt when she realized she had been trapped inside the ward. In that moment, however, she felt absolutely elated to realize that he had used his superhero identity to give her a plausible escape route. She kicked off her remaining shoe and punched the very window that she had rammed into before, using a great deal of her power to shatter it into pieces. Like an Olympian, she threw herself through her self-made opening and raced towards him at top speed. She leaped at her startled friend with enough force to send them outside of the hospital, into the late morning air.

"Seal it!" She commanded him while looping her arms around one of his shoulders. Holding onto him like a monkey, she made sure she wasn't in his way in the slightest so that he could close off the opening in the hospital wall.

Clark didn't need to be told what to do and proved himself to be as quick thinking as she knew him to be as he inhaled his deepest breath and fired an icy squall at the crater he had made. His self-made flurry took one too many seconds to cover the damage in the bricks, but once it was finally patched up seamlessly, Diana realized in her state of shock that she had forgotten to breathe.

"Are you all right? Diana?" interrogated Superman when her response wasn't instantaneous.

She nodded first as the entire encounter she had just escaped ran through her mind in reverse, her memory storing it away to dissect and analyze when she wasn't hovering fifty feet in the air. "Yes, I'm fine."

"I had to get Lois out of there, I'm sorry."

"No, no, I understand. You showed up at the perfect time, anyway." She encouraged him genuinely, even offering a lopsided grin with the hope that he'd believe her.

They exchanged glances but his chiseled features never seemed to soften. It was only while she waited to see if he'd justify his mood that the cries from below registered in her ears. Diana glanced down at the horde of people that were awaiting their landing, which seemed to give Clark the confidence to say, "I think I have my own mission to attend to now."

"What?" she searched his face once again to see if there were any cracks in his solemn facade, but there were none.

While she frantically tried to stuff her lasso into her brassiere to keep it out of sight of, Clark whimpered like an apologetic pup. "I need to find Vicki Vale. This whole mess today wasn't an accident - someone didn't like that you were getting close to the sludge monsters and tried to attack you. Something must have happened to her as well, and I need to find out what she knew before she disappeared."

"I think you're right," Diana shot out her answer as the screams turned into a massive cheer for their descent. "There are too many angles to this situation for us to focus all of our efforts in one direction."

"Exactly… now get ready to swoon."

"Excuse me?" Those words that he whispered in her ear threw her for a loop as their feet came to rest upon the ground. But once they were swarmed by the many charmed faces of the nurses and visitors, voices high pitched and hands clutching their hearts, Diana knew exactly what Clark was telling her to do.

Behave like a typical woman who wasn't accustomed to Superman.

After such a dangerous battle, she wasn't anticipating to put on a show now too. Still, the only reason she didn't punch her way through the hospital after the monsters escaped was to preserve her new civilian identity, so that would mean…

"Oh, Superman! I don't know how I can thank you!" she squealed at the top of her lungs, still retaining her classic dignity while playing the part of the fool. "I didn't know if I was going to survive!"

Clark's gleaming smile was a little too genuine when he posed, hands on his hips, one slightly cocked brow. "Well, you're safe now, miss."

The corners of her lips twitched and she had to fight off the urge to show him her dryest smile. She didn't have the time to worry about breaking character though as the eerie sound of sirens grew louder and louder than the roaring huddle of people on the hospital's sidewalk. She looked up just in time to witness a trio of cops cars race into the roundabout driveway in front of Gotham General. Some of the already shaken hospital staff were forced to leap out of the way of the invigorated police who barely came to a rolling stop before jumping out of their cars and attempt to manage the informal gathering.

Six officers began patrolling the scene, and all the while, Diana was on the lookout for Commissioner Gordon. Though they had never met, she imagined that he'd have been easy enough to spot, given that she didn't expect to see him in a policeman's uniform. As the entrance was taped off, while the shaken staff and their patients were corralled across the street by the rather aggressive police force, it dawned on her that she should be looking for someone else who appeared to be missing.

No matter which direction she tossed her gaze, Diana could not pinpoint the location of Dr. Hunt.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

Whew, this chapter was a bit of a mess, but it's completed! I am so sorry it took me so long to write for you all. I had a rather serious family situation spring up and it has occupied my time for about two months now. Thankfully, things have begun to calm down and even though it took me all week, I managed to finish this chapter!

We are back to the original update schedule, hurray! I hope you're excited for next week, where - spoiler alert - we have to get Bruce's reaction to what Diana just went through. So be on the lookout for your next update on February 16th! - Maiden


	13. What To Do?

_**In the Middle of a Broken Constellation**_

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)  
 **Rating:** T / 14A  
 **Universe:** N/A (Reader's Choice)

* * *

It had taken such an exorbitant amount of time for Diana to return to Wayne Tower after the accident. Even as a superhero who helped clean up the destruction of villains weekly, she felt absolutely drained by the time she had been examined by the EMTs, interviewed by the press and officially released from Gotham General. They hailed her as a medical marvel because she was able to escape the monsters without being engulfed in their sludge, but she tried to push the responsibility of her survival onto Superman as much as she could so that they wouldn't continue pestering her about staying overnight.

Her first day on the job for Lucius was an absolute disaster, without a doubt.

The only silver lining she could think of as she rode the elevator to the thirty-fourth floor was that it had been her who was trapped in the Isolation Ward, not a civilian. If someone from Wayne Enterprises had to make that trip again, she'd gladly take their place. Her metahuman gifts were rendered useless by her circumstances but her instincts from battles over the years were the only reason she was still herself. It was frightening to even imagine herself being consumed by that sludge and… losing herself without any way to return to who she was.

Looking down at her hands, she curled them in towards her palms just to experience the movement and know she had control over herself. To think of the fifty or so innocent lives there were being held captive at that hospital made her stomach drop. What was it like for them beneath that liquified state? Were the aware of all that their bodies were doing or were they all mindlessly wasting away? She couldn't allow the number of monsters to rise, in any of the three cities that were affected by the sludge. Today had been terrifying but she knew she couldn't blame them for reacting to her the way that they had-

Because she realized, the person to blame would have been whoever had unlocked the anteroom door.

A digital chime signaled her that she had reached the thirty-fourth floor and in a moment of panic, she leaped out of the elevator. At that moment, it dawned on her that she hadn't prepared a story to tell her boss about the events of the day. The air of the office was hectic, focused and driven while she wandered down the hall, making her uncertainty feel like insecurity. If he didn't keep her as the Community Outreach Specialist for the Wayne Foundation, then her entire civilian identity would experience a crisis unlike any she had experienced before.

She needed to know if Lucius would tolerate her explanation, which drove her to bang rather loudly on his office door.

"Come in," her boss invited her in without looking up from his desk, distracted by something he was looking at on his computer. The door had been ajar and she expected to meet his gaze immediately. Instead, she took three steps into the room before he lifted his head. Once he did, however, he looked absolutely horrified. "Diana!"

"Mr. Fox, I apologize for being so late. I-"

She wasn't allowed to finish. Lucius reached for the intercom on his phone and nearly shouted, "Tell Bruce to come here."

The floor fell apart beneath her. At least, that was how she felt. She wanted to see her friend as much as possible - that was why she took this job and relocated herself in the first place - but it didn't bode well that the CEO was being called into a meeting with her on day one of her job. The only thing she could do was handle herself with the utmost dignity and pray that they were merely going to beg her not to sue them for emotional distress. "I wanted to return sooner, but something happened at Gotham General. There was-"

Lucius stood up from his desk and walked over to meet her face to face. He adjusted his glasses as if he couldn't believe his eyes, and his tone of voice made her think that he genuinely didn't. "I heard. We _all_ heard about the hospital. I've been trying to call you since the story broke around noon."

"They… I lost my purse in the Isolation Ward." She explained delicately.

"Jesus Christ," He groaned as he ran his hand over his face, stressed beyond belief and most likely imagining what she went through to have sacrificed her belongings. Once his palm reached his chin, he used his other arm to gesture to one of the seats in his office. With a grateful nod, Diana began to move into the closest chair, more than ready to relax after the long day she had had.

Until a hysterical man shouted from the doorway, "She's here!?"

Hearing him stilled her, and her already weary heart managed to thump erratically in her chest. She heard Lucius call for him, but turning around and seeing Bruce after the day she had had was an unexpected godsend. The guarded man she knew looked wild when she faced him. He was clutching the door frame for dear life while his body leaned into the office, his eyes surveying her with intent and fear. The man she was used to would have known not to fret over her, yet this… forgetful version of him didn't. She didn't know how to feel about his evident concern.

"Are you all right? They said you were locked in the hospital with the monsters, we weren't sure what happened to you!" He explained his position with so much panic, it was evident that he had been fretting over her the entire day.

"I was" - as soon as she confirmed his greatest fear, Bruce entered the space and slammed the door shut so that he could hear all about the horrors she faced, uninterrupted - "but I was lucky to get out alive. Superman saved me."

Name-dropping the man from Krypton didn't seem to interest either of the men standing before her. Instead, Bruce continued to inquire about her time at Gotham General. "How did you get locked in there with them?" Preparing for her answer to bowl him over, he crossed his arms over his chest.

It was a question she didn't honestly have an answer to, it was quite easy to play the hopeless civilian. "I don't know. One minute, I am talking to Dr. Hunt about the sludge and the experiments he intends to do on them, and then suddenly, the door to their room opens. Dr. Hunt managed to escape the Isolation Ward, but I was locked in. I just assumed it was an accident with the security system."

No she didn't.

She didn't trust the hospital one bit, especially Dr. Hunt and his department.

Something wasn't right, but that was for Wonder Woman to deal with, not Diana Prince.

A chuckle drew her attention away from Bruce and onto Lucius. "I'm calling them now." He informed both of them without any humor in his voice at all as he returned to his seat behind the desk and picked up his phone.

If she hadn't fought for her life, she might have felt sorry for sending her boss after the hospital. If she hadn't nearly been consumed by sludge, she could have thought to ask Lucius to let it go and to not let it impact the Wayne Foundation's relationship with Gotham General. But it was because of a malfunction in their security system or, quite possibly, the horrendous intentions of someone employed there that she was put in harm's way.

In all honesty, she just as grateful for Mr. Fox's superpower as she was for Clark's.

"Diana," The sound of Bruce softly saying her name made her face him in her chair. "Did they make sure you were okay before letting you go?" He looked as if he was trying to hide the fact that he was absolutely gutted over what she went through, but failing miserably to do so. Did someone he remembered in his amnesiac get taken over by the sludge, and it caused him to fear it? It was possible, she realized, that there was a person or persons of interest in his life that might have been one of the people who was trapped in that Isolation Ward at that very moment.

She felt swayed by his worry in a way she didn't quite understand. "Yes, that's what took me so long to come back here."

"You should have just gone home. Given us a call and taken a sick day." Advised Bruce as he threw his hands up in the air before dropping into the seat next to her. He couldn't believe her determination to return to the office was real, it seemed.

All she could do was smile weakly at him. "I was telling Lucius that I lost my purse trying to survive in there, along with my shoes."

Together, they looked down at her feet, donning a sleek pair of black flats that she kept in her trunk in case of an emergency.

She found them amusing, but Bruce did not. She watched his hunched over body remain still as he observed her shoes with what she could only imagine to be a sorrowful expression. He didn't know what she was capable of, only that she had been through an ordeal on her first site visit in her new role at his company. Despite his attempt to draw himself upwards and pretend that he hadn't been staring at her shoes for much longer than necessary, it was evident that he was unaware of how to handle this situation, of his employee nearly being taken over by the very sludge his company was hoping to help eradicate.

The Batman might have offered an emotionless congratulations and expected her back at work the next day.

That's what she expected from herself, as well.

The Bruce Wayne sitting before her had everything that Batman did except the experience on how to expect the unexpected and handle the aftermath.

It was with a melancholic smile that she said to him softly, "Don't worry, I won't be asking for an advance on my pay to replace my belongings."

Using money in a comedic way seemed to reach him. Bruce chuckled and found the strength to meet her eyes again. "Well, don't _you_ worry, because we're going to."

"Oh," Diana's brows furrowed as she processed his words. "I really don't need you to do that, Mr. Wayne."

It was definitely subtle, though he tried to stop himself halfway through, Bruce did indeed shrug off her rejection of his offer. "You just moved to this city - one of the most dangerous in all of America, no, in all of the world - and were nearly turned into pink slime on your first day on the job. You haven't made any demands of me or Gotham General to cover your hospital bills or your lost possessions?"

She couldn't tell if he was genuinely suspicious of her, but his pointed gaze terrified her. Was he assuming that there was a reason as to why she was handling everything so well? It made her think of Clark's suggestion that she swoon over him when he flew her down to the ground outside of the hospital - was she not playing the part of a normal, depowered woman as well as she thought? It was never so difficult to blend in with society before, and yet, it felt like Bruce was examining her the way he used to.

The way he would whenever he distrusted her and wanted to see what she had to hide.

Diana collected herself rather quickly, took a deep breath to steady her nerves, then took another stab at being a regular woman. "Well, I wouldn't turn down a company car so I can drive myself home, then go out and replace my phone and car keys."

"Your car keys…" Bruce repeated her with shock lacing his words, then he made a rather sour face. "No, here's a better idea. Tomorrow, when you come in, we'll sit down and fill out your report about the incident at Gotham General together. Then, I will take you to replace your shoes, your purse, your phone and your car keys all on the company dime."

"Mr. Wayne-" On the outside, she looked shocked. On the inside, she was boiling. Who was he to take on the role of a dictator, simply because she was a woman without access to her car? It made absolutely no sense for him to take over her life and her career in such a domineering way, especially when he didn't know her well enough to guarantee she would tolerate it.

Regardless, Bruce didn't care. "I just so happen to have the afternoon off, so you'll start at 11:30 and spend the rest of your day with me. I'll teach you more about the company while we take care of your belongings on the Wayne Corporation's dime, and then after that, you'll return to work as… well, not usual. But you know what I mean."

His tone of voice, his commanding air, and his almighty decrees wore down her ability to play the part of the distressed victim. It felt insulting to pretend that he could talk to her like that. The Amazonian blood pumping through her veins refused to allow that kind of talk, and the Lasso of Truth that was still hidden in her brassiere felt warm against her chest as she looked him dead in the eye. Bravely, she sat up tall and straightened her skirt as she proclaimed, "I don't mind giving you my report, Mr. Wayne, but I'm not looking for money."

Without missing a beat, or perhaps while stamping his mark on the end of hers, Bruce blurted out, "Then what are you looking for?"

There was a twitch in the corner of her lips, urging her to make a willful retort. However, it slowly washed over her that the energy between them was shifting. His words echoed in her mind, playing over and over again until she heard the second meaning that was hidden behind the veil of their conversation. It occurred to her that he was right: wasn't she looking for _him_? Her entire goal was to find him, watch over him, and take care of him until they found him a cure. That was her mission and the attack she had endured that morning was proof that she had taken on the most important role.

She had spent a month wishing she could look for him, and now here he was.

But why did she feel that question in the depths of her heart?

What was she _still_ looking for?

"...Yes, hello. I'd like to speak to Mr. Hunt please." Lucius suddenly spoke into his phone for the first time since promising he'd call Gotham General. When his voice broke through the silence, Diana understood in that very moment that he must have heard their entire conversation.

That knowledge made her cheeks feel warm, but she couldn't fathom as to why. All she knew was that she was locked into a staring contest with the one and only Bruce Wayne. His confidence in this state was something she had seen before but had never felt in full effect, and it made her both excited to work alongside him once again while equally anxious for what tomorrow would bring them.


	14. Moving In: Checklist

**_In the Middle of a Broken Constellation_**

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)  
 **Rating:** T / 14A  
 **Universe:** N/A (Reader's Choice)

* * *

Diana didn't mean to slam her apartment door when she returned home that evening, but she was just too irritated to care about the strength she used to close it.

"Whoa!" came a startled yelp from the kitchen. She shot her blue-eyed glare across the hall, only to find a nervous Jason preparing dinner at the stove, a sizzling pan in one hand and a spatula in the other.

And an adorable apron with frills making him look the part of the perfect homemaker.

It was shocking enough to smooth out her temper just enough to smile. "Sorry," she mumbled. After a deep breath and the removal of her emergency black flats, Diana entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "I didn't know you'd be home."

"Where else would I be? I haven't heard about any leads from you or the League, it's not dark enough for criminals to be roaming the streets yet, and I was getting hungry." Jason explained, covering all of his bases to justify his time at home.

Except for one, which Diana decided to bring up for him. "Nightwing wouldn't let you join him and Huntress?"

Surprisingly, an honest scoff was his answer. "Nope."

She did her best not to giggle as she reached into the fridge for her water filter and bring it with her over to the cupboard. While taking a glass off of the shelf, she listened to the sound of the meal being prepared and felt her stomach grumble. When she caught the scent of it, a second grumble shook her body. "So what are we having?" asked a famished Diana.

Proudly, Jason announced. "I'm making my world-renowned burgers."

"How is it 'world famous'?" Diana inquired as she took her first sip of water all day.

"Because I've had to cook for myself many times while traveling from place to place, so I've made this particular recipe while I was all over the world." Was his half-witted explanation. It immediately occurred to her that she could – and rightfully should – correct his understanding what 'world-renowned' meant, but it didn't seem like it would be worth the effort after the day she had had. Not only that, but the food did smell particularly delicious and she didn't want to risk having her portion revoked.

Conceding to his logic, Diana put her cup down on the counter and headed towards her bedroom. "Did any of my belongings arrive today?"

"No, sorry." He yelled down the hall after her, his sympathy genuine. Sighing to herself, Diana entered her bedroom and looked at the barren space. The hardwood beams that caught the light of the street gleamed with a rather pale glow, making the entire space feel all the more hollow. There was no bed for her to sleep on until it was delivered next week, and there were no dressers or night stands for her belongings until next weekend; she felt like she was on a sting operation rather than integrating into Gotham City, when her new home looked as barren as it did. Despite knowing that all of her possessions would be set up for her in a matter of days, she couldn't feel settled in until she could see herself all over her new bedroom.

It wasn't the first time she had to sleep on a cold floor though, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

She decided to move beyond her self-pity and open up her carry-on bags that she had placed in her closet. Whenever she traveled to the States, she always packed extra outfits in case she ever lost her suitcase during the trip, so she was absolutely prepared to dress down into her pajamas. She changed into her satin set of a button up shirt and shorts within a few minutes and exited her room with a new determined attitude.

The scent of beef seemed farther away than it had before, and Diana realized that Jason had brought their meals into the living room. Her slipper-wearing feet carried her down the hallway until she spotted a rather surprising set up for their dinner. "Oh, you found us a table?" Her question merely stated the obvious, but she was actually impressed. It was simply a foldable surface that he had placed near their window, but the matching pair of chairs meant that they actually had somewhere formal to sit and eat until everything else she owned arrived.

Jason was laying down their plates while answering her, rather focused on the table setting looking just right as he refused to look her way until he was finished with it. "It's not much, but yeah. I didn't think we'd want to eat on the floor when we have our own place. It's kind of cramped, but it's a table."

Diana couldn't argue with him there. "It's a great table," she praised him earnestly while walking the expanse of the long living room. She reached her seat and made sure she looked him in the eyes as she added, "Thank you."

Jason nodded in acknowledgement of her words before sitting down and digging in.

For a moment, it seemed rather calm in her apartment. Her roommate had made her dinner so she didn't need to cook as soon as she got home, the sun hadn't set yet on the summery day in Gotham City, and there wasn't a single police car or ambulance siren wailing off in the distance.

"Oh," a thought struck her just before she picked up her burger. "Did you see me on the news?"

Jason quirked a brow while his mouth was completely stuffed. "No? We don't have cable, and I was finding us this table." Somehow, she understood what he was saying through the massive bites of food he was shoveling down.

Maybe it was because she was able to understand animals…

She decided to take a bite of her own dinner, chew it properly and swallow before she filled him in on everything he had missed today. "I was locked in the isolation ward at the hospital with the people who had been turned into sludge monsters."

"You WHAT!?" Jason exclaimed, firing bits of food at her unintentionally.

Diana ripped her napkin off of the table and dabbed at her face, brows furrowed ever so slightly. "I went there today on behalf of the Wayne Foundation, and _somehow_ , I was locked in there with about fifty people who had been transformed by the sludge. I couldn't fight them or escape without giving away that I'm Wonder Woman, so I had to just survive until Superman showed up and rescued me."

For a moment or two, Jason couldn't speak. The story she had told him was running through his mind and his mental process of digesting her words showed on his face plainly. So startled was he, he put his world famous burger down and invested himself entirely in her recap of her day. "How the hell do you get locked in an isolation ward at a hospital?"

"That's what I'd like to know, and it's just another thing added to our list of mysteries to solve." Grumbled Diana as she spoke her realization aloud. It felt to her as though their mission to save Bruce was becoming more and more complicated without leading to any answers, and her patience was wearing thin, especially after her ordeal at Gotham General on her first day on the job.

"Is that why you were so angry when you came home?" Jason questioned her gently.  
Taking a rather hefty bite of her dinner, Diana simply nodded as she chewed.

"Well, we knew this wasn't going to be easy when we started out," he tried to pacify her with reason. "We were all coming into this thing with Bruce a month late. Yeah, it sucks that we keep unearthing more problems than solutions. But I think we've all realized by now that rushing into things isn't going to work. The sludge is contained, Bruce is functioning normally – or what it appears to be his new version of normal – and we pretty much have a superhero army on the case."

Diana was ready to fire off a retort the moment he started listing their different tasks. "We know that the sludge _isn't_ contained because Aquaman and the Flash were last seen fighting off a new version of it, and we haven't heard from them since. Should we send someone to check on them? Should we try to contact Atlantis? I don't know!"

"Diana…"

His attempt to counter her logic only urged her onwards. "Bruce _isn't_ normal because we know he has some kind of cognitive impairment, but we don't know what it is! I am spending the day with him tomorrow, and I can try to scan him again, and hopefully, Cyborg can determine what's wrong with him. Meanwhile, we have roughly fifty people in Gotham General who are infected with this sludge that has no cure, along with the people in Metropolis and the people in Central City. Superman is dividing his time between Metropolis and Gotham to help us find out as much information as we can, but Central City is still unprotected while the Flash is missing.

"We think Oracle has been consumed by the sludge, we think Vicki Vale might have been too, and all of those innocent people are left suffering in those mindless, violent sludge monster bodies until we can try to find a cure. But we don't have any ethical procedures put in place because we don't know anything about this substances. I can't ask Cyborg to touch it though or we could lose him too! This entire situation is absolutely maddening! And I'm sitting here, in an empty apartment, trying to move my life from Paris to Gotham, when I should have just taken an extended leave from work and… and…"

She couldn't think of what her alternative would have led her to do, and it resulted in a rather heavy silence in the middle of their conversation. The absurdity of her day finally caught up with her and she couldn't stop herself from venting to the nearest crime-fighting human being. The longer she spoke, the more embarrassed she felt about her outburst, creating a rather petulant rant she hadn't expected. It was true that she felt overwhelmed by all that was going on, lost in terms of what options she had, disappointed that no results had been yielded after putting forth a plan that involved the Justice League.

For the first time in a very long time, she felt anxious when she realized that she had absolutely no control over anything going on in her life.

That feeling of disappointment in herself doubled in size when Jason got up from the table suddenly. "Jason," she called to him, ready to apologize. However, all he intended to do was retrieve his home that was plugged into a charger in the wall, then he returned to his seat while unlocking his device. Then, a question spilled out of her against her will. "You have a phone?"  
He didn't look up at her as he kept his fingers busy. "It doesn't have service. I found it in the garbage once while I was in Canada and it was in perfect condition. I just hobo off of other people's Wi-Fi to watch videos online or type up encrypted notes for myself when I'm working on something."

"Oh." Was all she could think of to say.

He glanced at her over the top of his device, then showed her a pale white screen, with only the words 'Moving In: Checklist' written across the top. When she didn't react, he clarified his intention slowly, "That's what we'll call this mission."

Still uncertain about the meaning of his actions, Diana simply replied with a similarly paced, "Okay."

An unimpressed look crossed his face, but Jason recovered and began typing away, moving on without her. "So we have you, me, Cyborg, Superman, Aquaman and the Flash on the case, right?"

Diana nodded. "We also have Nightwing and Huntress, and possibly some more allies from my side."

That last comment of hers caused him to lift his head up. "Your side?" He paraphrased her, one brow arched high on his forehead.

"I sent for help from the Amazons, and asked Donna and Cassandra if they'd help, should we need them. Even though I haven't heard back from anyone, I wouldn't count them out entirely."

"Well, I'm only going to include who we have with us now," Jason stated, rather efficient about his note-making. "If we break this list down person by person, what is everyone doing? Which mission are they apart of?"

Diana sat up straight and counted each person on her fingers as she tried to figure everything out. "I'm working at the Wayne Foundation to guard Bruce from any other possible attacks, and to make sure his condition doesn't worsen."

"And to see if you can scan him so we can figure out what the hell happened to him." Jason tacked on.

Diana let him add that to her to-do list, but didn't wait very long to carry on with her rundown. "Cyborg is trying to analyze the sludge back at Headquarters, though he knows he can't touch it. Once I scan Bruce, he'll analyze that information too. He's essentially filling in for Oracle now that we know she's been consumed by the sludge."

Across the table, Jason's body twitched momentarily. He continued on typing, never looking away from the screen, piping up rather softly to ask, "So you think she's gone, or you know?"

One second too late, Diana realized that she had been rather crude in relaying that information to Jason. There was no doubt that they were friends, given that they both worked for the Batman at one point or another. Her tone was a tad guarded when she responded to him. "According to Clark, she's been gone just as long as Bruce has."

"Well, I'll add a visit to her place onto my to-do list," Jason promised, his voice as rigid as his expression. "Speaking of Superman, what's he up to?"

"He told me he wants to hunt down Vicki Vale, see what leads she had. He thinks she's disappeared, that someone thought she was getting too close to the mystery of the sludge and took her down before she found anything."

"Dammit, this could have so many more layers than we realize," Jason cursed and bit his lip as he typed away furiously on his phone. He was beginning to empathetically understand her frustrations from earlier, making her feel much less ashamed of her whining. "Either this is just one bad dude or there could be a bunch of people in on this. They're taking out reporters, they're infecting cities…"  
"And then creating a single sludge monster to appear off the coast of Maine just to take away the Flash and Aquaman."

"Do we _know_ they're missing?" Instantaneously, Jason shot his head up, staring her down from across the table. He was absolutely determined to only deal in facts, as evident in his claim to visit Barbara's house. She wasn't any different, however, Diana found it a tad upsetting that he felt the need to question her about what she and Cyborg had already agreed upon.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Diana stood her ground when she addressed his subtle disbelief. "They're officially MIA. They went to handle the monster and haven't been heard from since. Their Comms are dead, and we can't confirm if they are alive or dead." The blunt way in which she had to speak to him was rather painful, but she handled herself with poise to avoid another bout of volatility.

He didn't question her when she stood up to him in such a way. Instead, he approached the situation from another angle, "Do we have plans for a rescue mission?"

That question deflated her. "No, we don't. Given how thin our resources are already, I don't have anyone else to spare. We need to contact someone from Atlantis if we are going to search for them, since the fight they had with a new version of the sludge monster was over water."

"Why don't we do it?" Jason suggested, his tone flippant, like it was the simplest and most effective idea he'd ever had in his life.

Quizzical, Diana frowned at him. "Do what?"

Jason answered with an overtly cheeky grin. "I'm bored, we've got no plans for the night. Let's go search for them."

"Jason," she prepared herself mentally for the conversation that was sure to ensue before she rebuffed his idea, "We can't breathe underwater the way an Atlantean can. We'd have no way to search for them aside from flying Bruce's plane over the ocean and hoping to spot something. It's unrealistic."

That reply did not appear to satisfy his curiosity, nor his supposed boredom. Holding his phone in one hand and following the rhythm of his answer with the other, he bit back, "But we aren't going to find them if don't do anything at all. What, you just want to leave them out there?"

"No!" Argued the incredibly offended Amazon, her combative instincts making her rise out of her seat. "It'd be foolish to travel all the way out there with no really plan on how to locate them. Our only plan is to talk to an Atlantean—"

Jason stood as well, invigorated. "Right! So let's do that."

"—but he never gave us a way to do that. We can go to Headquarters and check."

"Then let's go!" Again, Jason was prepared to leave the apartment and travel to the JLA Headquarters at a moment's notice.

His eagerness was becoming more of a nuisance, steadily declining in endearment. Diana nearly shouted, "Then what happens if we can't contact them, and you still want to go out there? What do we do if you and I are taken away as well? What happens to Bruce, to Alfred, to all of the people infected and any future victims if we leave Superman and Cyborg to handle everything on their own? We can't just run into something like this without a plan."

Jason's responses was already on the tip of his tongue by the time she finished her last question, but instead of hearing his reply, someone else spoke in place of him. "Wow, I never would have guessed that I'd find you like this."

The window had become her knew doorway, Diana thought, as she stared up into the eyes of her latest intruder. It was about time that someone from 'her side' arrived to help them defeat this evil that had infiltrated the Justice League's livelihoods. She just didn't expect it to be like this…

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Who could it be!? It was super important I organized the mission records for both Diana and you, my beautiful readers. There's a lot going on and the different plot lines need to be spelled out before me dive into the romance- I mean, the friendship of Diana and Bruce. Hope you enjoyed this fun chapter amidst the serious tones of the last one, and hope you return next week to see who our guest is!

Also, I have my own original story now available on the Radish ficiton app (pink logo with a white 'R' in the middle). It's a free app where I was invited to write original content, and I have my first series out called " _ **The Aeternum Series: Book One**_ ". If you're into Greek mythology or magic or romance that's both sweet and sexy, please check it out! You can also learn more about it by following my social media accounts JenAnneGam. Thanks so much! ~ Maiden


	15. New Ally, More Problems

_**In the Middle of a Broken Constellation**_

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)  
 **Rating:** T / 14A  
 **Universe:** N/A (Reader's Choice)

* * *

"Donna!" Diana cheered as she stared up at her sister, surprised by her sudden appearance in the apartment's window. With the plastic dinner table pressed up against the wall, it took a moment or two for the shock to subside before she rearranged her 'dining room' furniture and welcome her guest inside. Dressed in her black armoured suit, it looked as though she had arrived with the expectation of a brawl.

But as she slipped into the apartment, she quietly looked around the room, landing softly on her feet on the hardwood floors in the exact moment her surveying gaze reached the wooden slats. "It's good to see you, both of you." Donna assured them both, but focused her gaze on Jason.

It looked as though he was returning a smile when he answered her. "You too. You answering our distress call?" His posture was relaxed, his grin was tender. Diana knew there was a possibility that they worked together as Titans before. She had just never had the luxury to ask.

The tone of voice that Donna used was very casual, solidifying proof of their friendly bond. "Well, it sounded like you might need a helping hand. Gotham City isn't usually on my radar, so I imagine that the situation here is rather bleak."

A nervous glance was exchanged between Diana and Jason instantly. But neither had the chance to truly describe the situation and all of its gorey details to her at that moment. The dramatic pause of their conversation was filled with an odd beeping. It was unfamiliar to her, but she watched as Jason's reflexes kicked in and he pulled back the sleeve of his sweater to reveal an elongated wristband. Familiar with the gadgets of the Batman family, she knew instantly what it was.

"Red Hood here." replied Jason to the summons of his cuff.

Though fighting an irritating static, Dick's voice came through the communicator inside of the wristband. "We need backup! I'm at Miller Harbour fighting off Falcone's goons, but he's escaped in one of his fancy cadillacs and he's headed into the East End!"

"I'm on it." Immediately, Jason was raring to go.

"Huntress is on his tail, so watch out for her."

Sensing that the call was about to end, Diana piped up. "Wait! Nightwing, do you need help?"

To her surprise, Jason hung up the call before running off to his bedroom. Over his shoulder, he called out, "Just go! He'll say he can handle it, even if he can't."

Donna sighed at her side. "He's right."

"Well then," Diana hummed, reaching for the top of her zipper at the back of her neck, giving it a rather sharp tug. She hadn't anticipated jumping into another fight today, nor had she wanted to. But with her sister by her side and her pent emotions having spilled out of her just moments ago, it seemed like the perfect outlet to destress after a rather tiring day. "After you."

Diana landed on the shoulders of one the mafioso the moment she arrived at Miller Harbour. The man staggered, and his surrounding cohorts gawked at her with a fear in her eyes that she assumed they saved for Batman. But while they were distracted by her presence, they were in no way prepared for Donna bulldozing through them with her shield acting as a battering ram. Her pure strength charged through their unsuspecting bodies with such a ferocity, she mowed them down in the blink of an eye.

There was a crowd of one hundred thugs, meaning they'd be done rather shortly.

She heard the hammer of a pistol tug back from behind her, causing her to turn around with her bracelet already drawn up over her face. Diana felt nothing, but she did hear the familiar sound of a bullet casing reflecting off of her armour. Taking that as a challenge, she faced forward once again, leaned over her the head of the man she was still standing on top of, then threw her body backwards. Her foot came out immediately and she kicked the goon in the face before landing behind him.

"Does Mr. Falcone not allow you to watch the news?" Diana wondered aloud. Taunting them was all too easy when every other villain continued to unintelligently use firearms against her.

An array of firearms were directed her way in an act of blatant retaliation.

All she could do was sigh when the shots rang out, her arms moving fluidly to shield her from the horde of bullets firing at her. Unimpressed, uninterested in such a match where her power was superior to their mortal strength, Diana was ready to wrap things up quickly. Her legs tensed before she ran toward the group of criminals without any discrimination. Her fists were already balled when she pulled her right one back and slammed it into the gut of the first person she could reach. The impact stole his breath away, so she utilized his lifeless form and lifted him off of the ground. She spun him around like a human propeller, then threw him into the crowd on her left.

It pushed their numbers back on one side of the battlefield, allowing her to focus on the other. Ten men tried to pile themselves on top of her at once, with two of them grabbing the wrist she'd used to nail their comrade in his jaw. Diana tried to tear her arm away before anyone else could dare touch her, but she felt someone weave their arms under hers and try to lock their hands behind her head. The gaul of these crooks were really beginning to infuriate her.

She could easily predict that another two goons intended to subdue her left hand too, but she wouldn't allow that. Diana threw her elbow back and slammed it into the bridge of one man's nose. Then, just as swiftly, she slammed the side of her hand into the throat of the next person who tried to approach her. To remove the three people attached to her, she'd decided it'd be best to use her other limbs. Throwing her foot back, an unnecessary amount of Amazonian force was used to knock one of her bracelet-holding men off of their feet. With less weight to manage, she knew she could handle the rest of her adversaries in a matter of seconds.

One, she allowed herself to fall back and land on top of the man trying to pin her shoulders back. The sound of the wind being knocked out of him flew passed her ear, and he loosened his hold on her a fraction of a second later.

Two, her feet planted themselves on either side of the man's fallen body so she could fling herself upright once again. The motions had dizzied the last of her human shackles, which she used to her advantage. Their gazes met - hers carrying the fire of battle within them, his revealing the fear he felt deep within his soul - just before she ripped one of his hands off of her.

Three, Diana tore his grip off of her just before she sent him flying into one of the people she had previously knocked down, unwilling to allow him to stand.

Four, she leapt into the air and reached for her lasso. The hoop was made larger and larger while she scouted the grounds of the dock. Donna had handled a great mass of them, while Dick was still struggling with the men who relied on their guns.

Five, she threw down the opening in her Lasso of Truth, capturing the mafia members belonging to Mr. Falcone. Confused, crumpled on the ground in the different piles of criminals they had all made, she tied them together like the untamed creatures they were. They whined and whimpered but she couldn't care less.

Falling back down to the ground, Diana gave a sharp tug on her lasso to guarantee the tightness of the hold she had on Falcone's men. She couldn't help but to glower at them all, letting the adrenaline of the battle wash over her one last time before it left her system. Only once she felt Donna come to stand next to her did she snap out of her hateful daze.

"Good idea," Donna managed to say before taking a deep breath.

"We'll just need to tie them up with actual rope before the cops come." Nightwing pointed out as he made his way over to them, returning his signature sticks back into their holsters.

Trying to appear as light as her friends were, Diana attempted some dry humour. "Luckily, I think we'll be able to find some here." She then nodded in the direction of the tethered boats nearby at the port, implying that she'd be willing to lift any ship onto the shore if they needed it.

"Yeah," Nightwing agreed softly, before turning his attention to Donna. Just like Jason, he was immediately focused on the appearance of her Amazon sister more than anything else that was going on. "Hey, Troia."

"Hello, Nightwing," she answered him sweetly. However, Diana couldn't help but notice the tiniest rise in her pitch when greeting Dick. "I hope you don't mind that we crashed your party."

It took a great deal of control not to side-eye her sister. Diana had known many superheroes who made quips after a battle, trying to lighten the mood with the most simplest attempts at a sassy retort. She'd never known Donna to be one of those people, though. It was absolutely intriguing to her now that she inquire about her fellow Amazon's relationships with the other men in the Batman family, when she next had the chance. There were more pressing matters at the moment at the harbour. "So what was Mr. Falcone doing here tonight? Why did he bring so many men to the docks?"

"We were following a lead," Nighting began while keeping his attention locked onto Donna. Once the seriousness of his mission reoccurred to him, he physically withdrew from his stupor and spoke to them both. "Huntress found out that Falcone had a package being delivered here at harbour. Something called 'fisherman equipment', which sounded really… well, fishy."

Donna agreed, deducing her own suspicion from the information they were given. "I can't imagine the man of a powerful criminal organization caring much for a shipment of fishing rods and lures."

Diana nodded. "So what was he really receiving here tonight?"

"Let's find out together." Dick smiled as he led the two of them over to an unmarked delivery parked next to the dock gates. Diana looked over the small vehicle and found it ever more curious that there no less than a hundred men present to guard whatever the shipment was, yet there weren't enough cars or trucks or boats at the harbour for all of the men to escape. It seemed quite possible that Falcone had been willing to sacrifice men if it meant a handful of them had gotten away with his special delivery.

"I had pulled the driver out of here" - he explained to them how he knew the keys to the truck were still in the ignition as he retrieved them from the driver's seat before moving to the latch on the back - "to keep him from driving off. I called Jason for back-up before jumping in to make sure they didn't leave with this."

"What do you think it could be?" Donna inquired, referring to the expert on Gotham City crime. She had already stuck her hand out toward the latch on the rear door, but Dick still reached for it at the same time.

For some reason that didn't register with Diana, they each hesitated, exchanged glances, before Donna dove for it and tossed it back with ease. Their focus once again drawn to one another, a pregnant pause sat upon all three of them for much longer than it should have, before she stepped aside and let him throw open the back door. Again, Diana was oddly intrigued by the tension between 'Nightwing and Troia'. It was both comforting and a tad frustrating to know that every generation of the Batman-Wonder Woman families had to square off with one another every chance they could get.

'Riveting' was another word for it.

But nothing was as riveting in that moment than what the 'fishing equipment' turned out to be.

Diana's gasp garnered Dick and Donna's attention, both of them turning their heads towards her sharply at the same time. When she couldn't manage the words to describe what she was looking at fast enough, they followed her gaze to see what could have caused her to feel so aghast. She heard them gasp just as loudly as she did, only with the pair of their voices sounding louder together. Nevertheless, they couldn't overtake the sound of the powerful vibration coming from Aquaman's trident, laying unceremoniously before them in the back of a mafia leader's shipping truck.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

Well, Diana was worried about Arthur and Barry, and now she knows she had a right to be! Who got ahold of Aquaman's trident? Why did they think to send it to Falcone? Also, what the heck is going on with Dick and Donna!? Well, if you stick around, you'll find out… something next Monday! See ya!


	16. Contractually Obligated

_**In the Middle of a Broken Constellation**_

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)  
 **Rating:** T/14A  
 **Universe:** N/A (Reader's Choice)

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This chapter is a little late because I am trying to figure out what direction to take this all in. Originally, I planned for a serious thriller of a story, but it doesn't seem like that appeals to many readers. I worry that if I don't have obvious WonderBat moments in most chapters, most WonderBat fans aren't interested in the build-up of this plot.

If it's possible, I really would appreciate some feedback on this chapter, and this story overall if possible. I dedicate every Monday to writing for this story but if no one is reading, then I don't think I should bother anymore. With this specific story, I mean. But this is a passion project of mine, so I need to know how to handle this. Thanks! **\- Maiden**

* * *

There was an itch at the back of her neck that she couldn't seem to scratch. Diana had simmered in her fury since the night before and it made her feel like as though a rash was running over her body. Her so-called allies had spent the morning arguing with her about what they were supposed to do with Arthur's trident, and how they should go about solving the mystery of it appearing suddenly in the back of Falcone's shipping truck. The team she had collected to help Bruce suddenly turned against her when she arose that morning, with Dick's words still ringing in her ears.  
" _You're here because you're worried about Bruce, right? Let us worry about Aquaman._ "

Couldn't she be worried about more than one of her friends at the same time!?

As devastating as the sludge monster infestation had been, the situation had simmered down considerably after Bruce stopped fulfilling his role as Batman. However, once she had decided to move into Gotham and participate in a solution, more and more concerns kept popping up every day. She had confessed to Jason how overwhelming everything had become, but that didn't mean she wanted to be excluded from anything. Perhaps finding Arthur and Barry would lead to helping Bruce, which was definitely an area of interest for her.

"Ah, I was just about to go looking for you," said none other than the billionaire she'd been thinking of, surprising her as he stood in the open doors of the elevator at Wayne Tower. Diana hadn't realized that she'd been so deep in thought, she'd nearly missed her chance to exit the car. As startled as she was to see him, Bruce looked undeniably smug to catch her off guard for a moment. "I almost thought you'd called in sick or something."  
"No," she promised a little too quickly. Diana fixed her rose-colored dress despite its loose fit while Bruce joined her in the elevator. He pressed the button marked forty-two and watched the doors shut at a rather sluggish pace. It was when she tried to peek over at him did she recall the pair of glasses she'd brought with her. Staring down at her clutch as she held it tightly under her arm, she knew she'd want to bring them out as soon as they sat down in his office.

"Did you manage to get any sleep last night?" Bruce inquired, breaking the silence.

Looking over at him with a pleasant smile, Diana answered him honestly. "Actually, I did. Only a few hours, though."

He released a hefty breath, looking much more flummoxed than he had yesterday when she'd returned from the hospital. "That's more than I expected. I can't imagine what you went through in there." Bruce admitted softly.

Despite his genuine attempt at empathy, his words actually struck her deeply. He _did_ know what that kind of battle was like – the ones where you feel powerless in the face of an unknown enemy, where any slip up could be the end of you. The Bruce Wayne she knew had so much more experience with these types of matters than he ever gave himself credit for, however, he could probably imagine exactly what she'd been through with one of his many adversaries from his rogue gallery. Hearing him speak with such a lack of awareness of his own life experience left her speechless for the rest of their time in the elevator.

Luckily, the ride to the forty-second floor was rather swift.

They stepped out of the car in sync with one another, each with their right foot first. There was a large desk for a pool of secretarial staff divided by a hallway, leading to an impressive pair of black doors that was only a few feet beyond them. "Good afternoon, Mr. Wayne." A chorus of voices greeted him, and a wall of sound collided with Diana as they passed the group.

"Afternoon." He answered them emotionlessly. Instead of devoting a moment of his time to his staff, Bruce walked with a noticeable impatience down the length of the hall. When his hand reached the doors, he threw them open as if he was tapping into the strength of the Batman. Diana felt the rush to enter his office and heard the doors close behind her just as much as she felt them. "Someone's eager to get started." She was compelled to tease his sudden forcefulness.

Then, she looked around his office with wide eyes. The motif of the floor-to-ceiling windows was carried throughout the building it seemed, from the lobby to Lucius' conference room to Bruce's personal space. The walls were decorated with spliced shelves in the shapes of shadowboxes, some containing books while some held cultured accessories. His desk was the same wooden color, a deep brown shade contrasting the brightness brought in by the natural light of the sun. It was a modern room that was particularly cold if she focused on it for a moment too long. But that was very Bruce-like, she acknowledged.

To appear distant while trying to be progressive.

Diana strolled over to her seat in front of his desk, loving the echo she heard from her steps. Bruce noticed right away and even dared to make a joke. "Glad to know you had another pair of heels at home to wear, after losing your shoes yesterday."

It made her feel much more comfortable to hear him say something so ridiculous. "My belongings haven't arrived yet so I had to make sure I had at least one more pair of shoes on hand. Although, I was more concerned about one of the heels breaking, not losing them at a hospital."

"Well, let's get through this report quickly then, so we can go out and get you some more," Bruce suggested while he clicked away on his computer, most likely searching for the forms they'd need to fill out.

"Mr. Wayne," Diana stopped him right there with a sharp pronunciation of his name, "I really don't need you to buy me anything."

His fingers froze over his keyboard. Slowly, he turned to look at her and she immediately recognized the challenge in his eyes. It appeared as though defiance was a natural trait for Bruce Wayne, no matter what he could or could not remember. As he spun his body to face her in his seat, he brought his palms together and clasped them tightly, presenting himself as a firm, unmoving boss. "I thought we agreed yesterday that your belongings would be replaced by the Wayne Corporation, as an apology for the horrible incident you endured yesterday."

"We did," she agreed easily enough. Sitting up straight, however, allowed her to emit a strikingly powerful air as well. "But after careful deliberation, I realized that if I accepted your offer, it could look like favoritism for your new hire and could create animosity between me and my peers."

"Why? I'm not going to tell them." Was the reply of the CEO.

"That's not the point."

"Look, Diana, we replace many people's belongings here all the time. From company pens to affordable housing, I've given out a lot of money. After what you went through yesterday, I doubt anyone would accuse you of taking advantage of the company if we offered you shoes in exchange for you not suing us over your first day on the job. Without any kind of insurance, there a lot of people who would do much worse than by taking our kindhearted gesture of a trip to a boutique-"

"But it's not 'we'." Diana pointed out.

"What?" Unafraid to look unpolished, his expression of confusion shifted the entire look of his face.

Refusing to back down, she pressed on. "It's not 'we', Mr. Wayne. It's you. You're offering me this kindhearted gesture verbally."

Again, just as aloof as a CEO should not be, he answered, "So?"

It infuriated Diana to no end that he could be so full of himself whenever it best suited him. That itchy feeling crawled up her spines and rushed over her shoulders, forcing her to sit up straight to lessen the sensation. "There is most definitely a conflict of interests, then!"

There was an impenetrable pause after she shouted at him, so obvious that it made her bite back saying anything else. It was embarrassing that he managed to get a rise out of her over something she believed shouldn't have been an issue in the first place. His ability to rile her up was yet another facet of his personality that was forever a part of him. What she wouldn't give to spar with him at that moment!

As if he heard her internal wish, Bruce arose from his seat and walked around the length of his desk to meet her. He sat himself down in the seat next to her, silently observing her as he moved. It took him a moment too long to speak, in her opinion, when he finally responded to her claim. "I respect you, Diana."

Unprepared for his sincerity, she didn't have a response ready for him.

So, he continued. "I can appreciate how aware you are of your situation here, but you have to understand something: I'm not asking you for permission here."  
"Mr. _Wayne_ —!"

"Were you on company time when you lost your shoes? Were you doing something that pertained to your job here? Were you put in harm's way while fulfilling your role as the Community Outreach Specialist for the Wayne Foundation? Yes? Then I have every right as both your boss' boss and the man who funds that hospital more than anyone else in the world to do what I want. Now, you can either come with me and pick out a specific pair of shoes or trust my judgment, even though I do not claim to be a fashion expert. You don't want me wasting hundreds of dollars on ugly heels, do you?"

For a few moments, she sat in awe of his argument. Then, she regained her consciousness and spat out, "You are the most stubborn man I've ever met."

"Only when I need to be." He smirked at her, proud of himself.

Eager to deflate him, she muttered, "I highly doubt that."

Bruce hadn't expected that response and nearly expressed his shock with a gaping mouth. Luckily for him, he caught himself before looking like a total fool, ready to blurt out the next obnoxious thing that came to mind. "If I wrote up a contract and we signed something physical, would that make you feel better?"

"It would make me feel ridiculous but much less ridiculous than if I simply agreed to your words." She explained.

"Great," Bruce sighed and immediately spun his computer screen around on his desk. Grabbing his wireless keyboard, he sat back in his seat, opened an empty document that was drawn up with a contract-like template, then began filling in the blanks with the terms they'd set. "I, Bruce Wayne, agree to replace the missing belongings of Diana Prince. Said belongings were damaged and have gone missing after an incident that occurred yesterday afternoon at Gotham General Hospital. The list of items to be replaced includes one pair of woman's heels, one woman's handbag, one cellphone…"

"One set of car keys," Diana added, trying her hardest not to laugh. She realized she had lied when she said it would feel less ridiculous to have a physical copy of their agreement. It felt like they were teenagers that need the law to act as their parents, ready to intervene if things became obscure.

With a brow arched, he turned to her and asked specifically, "How many keys need to be replaced?"

Unable to hide her awkwardness, Diana accidentally chastised him personally. "Bruce!"

He didn't appear disappointed by her usage of his name. Instead, he looked as though he was relieved to know she found the entire situation as hilarious as he did. "And one set of car keys. It is the responsibility of Mr. Wayne to provide transportation to and from any shops visited, as well as any meal that is consumed whilst shopping. When Miss Prince is satisfied with the purchases, Mr. Wayne is to escort her home."

Diana leaned over the armrest of her chair. It was her turn to add her own legalities to the contract since her name would be on it too. Making sure she spoke with proper articulation, she stated, "Should Mr. Wayne fail to fulfill any of his obligations, he must provide Miss Prince with one week of paid vacation to any destination she chooses, all expenses paid."

"What? What happened to being too virtuous to take any money from me?" Bruce complained immediately, indignation heard in his tone.

"A contract has clauses, you know. I'm merely protecting myself in our agreement." She claimed, all while visibly fighting off the urge to smile. After the way he made her feel when he fought her polite refusal of his gift, it was nice to turn things around on him.

That would only last a moment or two, however. Typing furiously, Bruce read aloud what his clause would say in their contract. "Should Miss Prince refuse a replacement for all of her belongs, the transportation to and from any shops visited, the meal consumed whilst shopping and/or the escort to her home, Miss Prince will be required to…attend the 37th Martha Wayne Charity Auction."

Instantly, Diana cocked her head to one side. "That doesn't sound at all like a punishment."

"Trust me," Bruce scoffed as he typed away. "It is."

"When is it?"

"Next weekend."

"Alright, I don't have any plans." Diana accepted the terms, sliding back into a proper seat. Having attended many galas and high society parties in her day, she knew that some could be rather mundane, but it wasn't something she couldn't survive.

Whereas Bruce would most likely suffer internally for years if she bested him and managed to get a free vacation out of their inane contract.

"By signing below, both parties indicate that they have read, reviewed and agree to the terms of this contract." Bruce declared. Once he was finished typing, he stood up, returned his keyboard to his desk, and signed his signature on the touch screen of his computer. Following his example, Diana arose from her chair and did the same. Since the computer was positioned off to the side, she was forced to lean forward and cross over his personal space in order to reach the screen. She scribbled her name as quick as can be before looking up at him, shooting him a confident grin of her own.

But when she met his gaze, she didn't see the jovial man she had been teasing a moment ago. The confidence that radiated off of him was something she'd seen before, in meetings where he would get his way, in moments where he could put down even the strongest Metahumans in the Justice League. She moved carefully so as to preserve the image in her mind, as it encouraged her to see the version of Bruce Wayne she was trying to save. The Batman existed inside of him even if she couldn't reach him directly.

But this version of him, the one she would be spending her day with, had the charms of Bruce that she wasn't always privy to.

Face to face, she saw a glint in his eyes that was mischievous, no matter how fleeting it was. He cleared his throat and offered her his hand, but Diana didn't take it right away. She couldn't help but feel like she was searching more like she was greedy for… something. Everything she was doing – everything she had done with her civilian life and all of her resources as Wonder Woman – was all geared towards this enigma of a man. Having him next to her, alone, where she could truly marvel at the person he was beneath the Kevlar and the trickery was worth more than any pair of shoes they'd find at the mall.

And it made her feel flush in a way she didn't dare acknowledge while standing with him in his office.

Carefully, she shook his hand and offered a cordially smile. Then, she said. "Before we can move on to fulfilling the promises of the contract, we have a report to fill out first, right?"

Bruce withdrew his hand and stomped around his desk in the blink of an eye. The absence of his presence was felt right away, but it was the coldness of his answer that stood out to her. "Yes, of course." He dropped into his seat, fixated himself with his computer and began setting up the report file. It didn't shock her to see him retreat into himself, but Diana noticed right away that it wasn't such a harsh separation as she was used to with him.

Maybe, once the old Bruce returned to her, some of these softer traits of his would remain.

Maybe.


	17. Pretty Woman

**In the Middle of a Broken Constellation**

* * *

 **Pairing:** WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

 **Rating:** T/14A

 **Universe:** N/A - Reader's Choice

* * *

"Diana, meet Magdalena Marques," Bruce sounded comfortable, cheerful even as he introduced Diana to his personal shopper. Everything in the department store looked high class and opulent, and the middle-aged woman approaching them presented herself like everything contained within the mall's walls was hers. "Maggie, this is a new employee of mine, Diana Prince."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Prince. Welcome to Evident." Magdalena spoke slowly while her big brown eyes roamed over the two of them. She didn't even bother to try and hide her obvious intrigue about their relationship, despite the fact that Bruce just told her who they were to one another: colleagues.

Diana, unbothered, offered out her hand to the woman and waited for her to accept the gesture before speaking. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, you as well. I take it he bullied my staff to get this appointment for you, miss?" she asked the two of them, but didn't wait for their answer. Her hand slipped out of the handshake with the utmost poise before she spun on her heels and began to walk towards the women's section of the store. On Bruce's signal, Diana skipped forward to follow Magdalena's dedicated pace towards their destination.

Shouting so she could hear him, Bruce explained, "The Wayne Corporation owes her for her hard work, and I thought this would be the best place to spoil her."

"Of course it is. After all, you're a loyal customer, you have garnered a lot of business for my store," Magdalena sounded as if she was listing off the positive qualities to having the wealthy Bruce Wayne on her roster of regulars, then she stopped talking at the exact same moment that she stopped walking. Reaching to her left and grabbing for a blazer off of a nearby rack that was meant to be tied at the waist rather than buttoned, she unbuttoned her lips and added the last trait of his that she adored so much. "And all of your credit cards are on file."

"Every single one of them." Bruce chuckled, confirming her words to be true with a boyish shrug. Watching him respond to this woman as he did gave Diana pause when she least expected it.

"But we are only here to buy a handful of things, so you'll only really need one of them." She enunciated the ending of her remark to make sure that the keywords reached his determined mind.

He turned his head to face her but the rest of his body didn't even flinch. With a crooked grin he decided at that moment to inform her of his secret plan, "But I have to take into account the emotional, physical and mental toll the entire situation took on you. So I think we can look into a few spring jackets and some sun hats too."

"Mr. Wayne." The way she said his name was meant to act as a warning.

The way he tilted his head to show her the warning he carried in his gaze, "Miss Prince, let Magdalena do her job, and let me do mine."

"Your job isn't to dress me like a doll."

"My job is to make sure that you are properly compensated for the efforts you made yesterday. If I deem that you earned one of everything in this store, as your boss' boss, should that not be a testament to you rather than a detriment to me?"

Diana pursed her lips to stop herself from saying the first thing that came to mind, as it wasn't the kindest nor the most intelligible thing she could utter in that moment. If he hadn't been missing parts of his memory, she could have responded so cleverly with a remark regarding some of the designs he'd made regarding the BatClan's first set of suits. She could have brought up that his stylistic tastes involved donning a cowl that sometimes made it impossible to turn his neck from side to side.

However, if she had the luxury of mentioning those moments, it would have meant that he wasn't suffering from severe memory loss, and they wouldn't even been together at the mall in the first place.

Thinking of their situation as a happy accident calmed Diana greatly. If nothing else, she knew she could keep the tags on everything and hand the entire wardrobe she expected him to buy her back over to him once he was well again. For now, as selfish as it was, she imagined what it would be like to spend time with Bruce without the fear of sludge monsters or villains for the first time in a long time. Then, she turned her thoughts into reality. "Some employers just offer their employees a raise or a plague when they want to reward their good behavior."

Bruce grinned from ear to ear the moment he picked up on her submitting to his request. "I think you've been in Gotham long enough to know that nothing that happens here is normal, by any means." He said coolly.

Diana turned away from that smile of his for a reason she couldn't place, taking that wry remark as her cue to catch up to Magdalena and look over a handful of items that the woman had already selected for her. Giving into Bruce wasn't something she did easily, whether he wore the cowl or not. Maybe it was because she was playing the role of a civilian and he had been turned into the fully realized version of his mortal self, but she had to admit that the levity of the moment made her think that the walls of the mall were somewhat of a safe place.

That Evident might be the one place where Bruce could get what he wanted from her, and she could perhaps sneak a peek into the version of Bruce Wayne that he hid from her whenever he donned his superhero clothes.

* * *

When she exited the dressing room for the very first time, it was somewhat of a shock to see Bruce sitting on the peach-toned leather couch, awaiting her return. He was hunched over his knees and typing furiously on his phone, so Diana honestly hoped that she could walk out of her room and model her simple slacks and blouse combination without him noticing. After all, she'd learned rather early on in her clothes-shopping days that the lights in the changing room weren't always the most flattering. It was because of a habit that she reemerged before him, nothing else.

There was no ulterior motive, truly.

But when Bruce lifted his head and switched over from excitement to shock to obvious disappointment, Diana couldn't help but laugh at his inability to control himself. "Were you expecting me to come out here like Julia Roberts?" She questioned, coy.

"Huh?" Was his dumbfounded reply.

Adjusting her buttons and the tuck of her shirt, Diana explained, "I'd been in a luxurious red dress and your generosity would have saved the homely woman from her unfortunate fashion circumstances."

"Ah, no. No, I was just…expecting you to try on that green lace dress first."

"Lace?" She repeated him while looking at him in the mirror.

His eyes found hers and she'd never seen such panic in them before, not even on the battlefield. "Isn't that fabric? Maybe it was tulle." He grumbled, trying to recover. The way he took to his phone in order to avoid her scrutiny was so dramatic, she couldn't determine if it was all an act or if he was genuinely embarrassed. However, he understood what she was implying by focusing on the sheer material and that alone tickled her fancy.

"Bruce," she called to him as she returned her attention to her look. "I think I'm good with just this."

"Really?" His head shot up so quickly, she had blinked and missed the sight of him sitting up straight in response to her comment.

"I rather like this material, and the cut of both the blouse and the pants suit me really well. There are no loose threads, and I don't need to get the pants hemmed. It's actually perfect for me." Her admiration of the outfit was so authentic because it proved to her that Evident was a quality store.

So caught up in her analysis of the fit of her slacks, she hadn't heard Bruce's shoes against the tiles. He had snuck up on her in a matter of seconds, standing directly behind her when his voice drifted towards her in a hushed tone, "At least try on the blazer Maggie picked out. It'd go with this."

Aware of the shivers that were ready to bowl her over, Diana pivoted her upper body to face him as best as she could. That tense edge in his jaw confused her, since she could typically deduce what it was that was causing him stress. Nevertheless, he stared her down with something undecided in his eyes, in his energy. He either wanted to pin her to the spot or he wanted to say something else to her that was on the very tip of his tongue. But his mouth was forced shut as he stood within mere inches of her, asking her to add one more piece to her new outfit.  
"I don't need to," she admitted gently. "That's one item I wouldn't leave without."

"Good." Bruce sounded relieved when the corner of his lips jumped up into a smile for no more than a second. Then, it sunk back down and he looked like his serious old self once again.

Nervous about the silence coupled with his seriousness, Diana wondered aloud, "Is there something else…?"

"What do you mean?" He inquired, as if he couldn't tell why she was slightly perturbed by him.

Turning around to face him properly, Diana explained, "You left your seat to look me over."

"Well" - he sighed as he began his response, but he carried out his sentiment without an ounce of shame by the time it was done - "I didn't think there was a woman in the world who could make a mere suit look so attractive."

Diana gave him a moment to take it back or pretend he was joking, but when he didn't offer her any kind of humor to base his comment on, she implored him to continue. "And?"

Bruce scanned her face with those burning, searing eyes of his while he had his moment to think. After a few seconds ticked by, he finally concocted an answer for her. "And... there are paparazzi outside."

"What?" Diana asked, gawking.

"I just got a text from mall security that someone tipped them off that we are in here, meaning we are going to have to make this a shorter trip. I'm sorry, Miss Prince." Bruce explained with honest to goodness regret seeping into the lines of his face.

Diana realized then and there that what Bruce was doing wasn't harassment - he was shielding her from being photographed with him. If someone tipped off the press that Bruce Wayne was out and about with a female friend, they would create a very unsavory narrative about her and frame her in all sorts of horrible ways. Not only would the public shaming be unfair, but the attention could prove to be a major detriment to her undercover mission.

If the person who was after Bruce could pinpoint who she was to him and where they were, they could both be in danger.

No matter how disappointed she was, Diana nodded her head ever so softly to indicate to him that she was ready to move. Seemingly impressed by her resolve in such an awkward situation, Bruce swore to her in such a deep whisper, it made his voice sound gravelly and unintentionally sexy, "We'll go for lunch at a more secure location. For now, when I count down from three, we run like a pair of bats out of hell, okay? Just follow my lead."

Oddly enough, the circumstances being what they were, she didn't find them to be so stressful anymore. Escaping something sinister with Bruce when he referred to them as bats was oddly cathartic to Diana. If only for her own enjoyment, unknowingly at his expense, she answered him the only way she knew how to, "Ready when you are, Batman."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

Something cute for this chapter, since the next one will involve a more intimate setting. Will the paparazzi prove to be just as dangerous of an enemy as the sludge monsters!? …Well, obviously not, but they are now interested in Bruce and his mystery date, so I wonder where _that_ could take them? Hope you enjoyed this month's installment! Be sure to check out my other fics while you bide your time! - Maiden


End file.
